South Africa has administered 249 916 COVID-19 vaccines as the virus continues to spread, with over 5 000 new cases recorded on Monday.

According to the Department of Health, this means the country has now distributed 12 289 478 vaccines, translating to 9 252 975 people who have received their vaccination, of which 5 818 291 are now fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said 32 040 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, with 5 644 new cases reported.

The majority of new cases occurred in KwaZulu-Natal (1 982), followed by the Eastern Cape (931) and Western Cape (903).

According to the NICD, the additional infections represent a 17.6% positivity rate, while the seven-day moving average daily number of cases has decreased.

In addition, 235 more people lost their lives to the disease, pushing the death toll to 81 830 to date.

“There has been an increase of 127 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours,” the institute said, adding that this brings the total to 13 090 patients who are currently in hospital.

Globally, as of 30 August 2021, there have been 216 303 376 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 4 498 451 deaths, reported to the World Health Organisation.

In addition, 5 019 907 027 vaccine doses have been administered worldwide.

Source: South African Government News Agency