SA records 13,777 new Covid-19 cases, driven by 4,000 new infections in WC

There were more than 4,000 new Covid-19 cases recorded in the Western Cape, driving SA to 13,777 total new infections in the past 24 hours.

There were also another 458 Covid-19 related deaths recorded in the past 24 hours, as the country continues to feel the burden of the coronavirus third wave.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the new cases mean that there have been 2,497,655 cases recorded to date across SA. The virus death toll is 73,873.

“The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape (30%), followed by Gauteng (20%). KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 19%," the NICD said.

This translates to 4,097 cases in the Western Cape, 2,740 in Gauteng and 2,667 in KZN. No other province passed the 1,000 mark.

Driven largely by the increase in new infections in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, the NICD said that the rolling seven-day average of new cases was on the rise again across SA. This after a period of decline due to Gauteng having passed its third wave peak.

“The total number of cases today (13,777) is higher than yesterday (13,263) and higher than the average number of new cases per day over the seven preceding days (10,850). The seven-day moving average daily number of cases has increased,” the NICD said.

The NICD said there had been an increase of 610 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours, meaning that 15,300 people are in hospital for Covid-19 treatment across SA.

TimesLIVE