South Africa’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise, with 5 361 new infections reported on Thursday.
The additional cases are from the sample of the 43 776 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, which represents a 12.2 positivity rate.
Meanwhile, Health Minster Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, also announced that 54 more people succumbed to the respiratory disease.
This means that the country has 56 765 fatalities since the outbreak, with the cumulative number of detected cases now standing at 1 680 373.
Of the latest deaths, Mkhize said, 17 are from Gauteng, 14 from the Western Cape, 12 from the Free State, four from the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, while three are from the Northern Cape.
“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased patients,” said the Minister.
To date, 1 567 635 patients beat Coronavirus, while the country is currently home to 55 973 active cases.
Gauteng remains the hardest hit province with 19 877 active cases.
The province is followed by the Northern Cape which has 8 596 people who are currently infected, while 8 503 are in the Free State, 6 446 in the North West, 4 625 in KwaZulu-Natal, 3 994 in the Western Cape, 1 941 in Mpumalanga, 1 067 in the Eastern Cape and 924 in Limpopo.
On Wednesday, the country observed a sustained increase in the number of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases after 5 782 additional infections were detected.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) Acting Executive Director, Professor Adrian Puren said the percent-testing positive, the number of positive results out of the total daily tests, has also been steadily peaking.
The NICD said four provinces have already entered the third wave of COVID-19 infections. Namely, the Northern Cape, Free State, North West and most recently Gauteng.
“This means that the seven-day moving average of case incidence has reached 30% of the previous peak in these provinces. We are also seeing sustained increases in case incidence in some districts in other provinces,” Puren adds.
He has since called on the public to remain vigilant at this time.
The Minister said 41 763 people were vaccinated since the last reporting cycle, bringing the total to 1 117 569, while 2 242 753 elderly people have signed up for the vaccine.
Globally, as of 3 June 2021, there have been 171 292 827 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 3 687 589 deaths, reported to the World Health Organisation.
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