South Africa conducted 16 067 COVID-19 tests in the past 24 hours, of which 1 228 were positive.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), this means the positivity rate now stands at 7.6%.

Gauteng accounted for 41% or 498 new cases recorded, followed by 166 in Mpumalanga, 155 in the Western Cape and 145 in KwaZulu-Natal.

Meanwhile, the rest of the provinces reported less than 100 additional infections, pushing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3 625 190 since the last reporting cycle.

In addition, the Department of Health has registered 186 further fatalities, of which eight people succumbed to the respiratory disease in the past 24 to 48 hours.

To date, the department said the official death toll has risen to 96 021.

The statistics also show that there are 4 585 patients who are currently receiving hospital care for COVID-19, of which 78 were admitted on Monday.

Also, the country administered 60 618 COVID-19 vaccine doses, pushing the total number of distributed jabs to 30 255 366.

The department said there are now 18 662 243 or 46.89% adults who are fully jabbed in the country, while 1 308 999 vaccine doses have been given to children aged between 12 and 17.

Globally, as of 7 February 2022, there have been 394 381 395 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5 735 179 deaths, reported to the World Health Organisation.

Source: South African Government News Agency