10,800 Covid-19 cases in Gauteng in 24 hours as 17,400 new infections recorded in SA

23 June 2021 - 19:21 By TimesLIVE
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There were more than 10,800 new Covid-19 cases recorded in Gauteng alone in the past 24 hours, and 17,400 across the country, the NICD said on Wednesday.
There were more than 10,800 new Covid-19 cases recorded in Gauteng alone in the past 24 hours, and 17,400 across the country, the NICD said on Wednesday.
Image: 123RF/HXDBZXY

Nearly 17,500 Covid-19 cases were recorded in SA in the past 24 hours, with Gauteng recording a provincial high of 10,806 of the new infections.

The 17,493 cases — at a positivity rate of 24.9% — is the highest single-day increase in cases since January 14, when 8,503 infections were recorded. There have now been 1,861,065 cumulative infections recorded to date.

In the past day, there were also 166 Covid-19 related deaths recorded, meaning that there have been 59,258 confirmed fatalities linked to the virus since the outbreak in March last year.  

According to figures provided by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Wednesday, the spike in cases, particularly in Gauteng, was a major worry.

The institute's head of public health surveillance and response division, Dr Michelle Groome, said that the daily numbers in Gauteng “are exceeding those seen during the previous two waves”.

“Ultimately, it is up to each one of us to play our role to reduce the spread of the virus by limiting our interaction with others as much as possible during this time,” said Groome.

Prof Adrian Puren, NICD's acting executive director, added: “It is critical to manage our risks and the risk to others, especially the elderly, by limiting contact with others and avoiding gatherings with those who are not part of our safe bubble.”

Also of worry was that two provinces, the Western Cape (1,778 cases) and the North West (1,018 cases) breached the 1,000 mark in the past day. KwaZulu-Natal recorded the next-highest number of new infections (917).

The NICD added that there were 622 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours, meaning that 10,497 people are now being treated for Covid-19 in the country's health facilities.

TimesLIVE


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