South Africa conducted 22 567 new COVID-19 tests in the past 24 hours, of which 1 931 were positive, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Sunday.

The majority of new cases were recorded in Gauteng after 494 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus, followed by 386 in the Western Cape and 371 in KwaZulu-Natal, pushing the positivity rate to 8.6%.

This means the country now has 3 581 359 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, while the death toll stands at 94 177 after 114 more people lost their lives.

However, according to the Department of Health, of the latest fatalities, only 17 occurred in the past 24 to 48 hours.

Meanwhile, hospital admissions have increased by 26 in the past 24 hours to 6 595.

The statistics show that there are currently 75 627 active cases, while the country’s recovery rate is sitting at 95.3%.

According to the department, 5 120 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered since the last reporting cycle, bringing the total to 29 369 021.

In addition, the country is now home to 16 262 118 adults who are fully vaccinated.

Of the over 6 072 people who are aged 12 and over in hospital, 4 438 are unvaccinated, while 1 411 are fully jabbed and 223 partially vaccinated.

Globally, as of 21 January 2022, there have been 340 543 962 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5 570 163 deaths, reported to the World Health Organisation.

Source: South African Government News Agency