South Africa has recorded close to 6 400 new COVID-19 cases and nine deaths, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Monday.

The NICD announced that 4 488 new infections were detected in Gauteng, which is currently the epicentre of the fourth wave. There were 635 cases in KwaZulu-Natal, 356 in the Western Cape and 337 in Mpumalanga.

According to the latest data, the increase represents a 26.4% positivity rate, meaning the country now has a caseload of 3 038 075 COVID-19 infections.

In addition, the death toll stands at 89 975 since the outbreak, while those who are receiving hospital treatment has risen to 3 517 after 175 new admissions were recorded in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health said the country administered 133 468 vaccine doses on Monday, pushing the total number of distributed jabs to 26 490 416.

According to the department, 17 133 576 adults in South Africa have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine since the start of the rollout programme.

Also, 14 833 839 or 37% of the over 18s are now fully vaccinated.

In addition, 621 have since received one dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

The statistics also show that 190 019 booster shots were administered to healthcare workers.

Globally, as of 6 December 2021, there have been 265 194 191 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5 254 116 deaths, reported to the World Health Organisation.

Source: South African Government News Agency