The NICD reports 14,828 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3,407,937. This increase represents a 25.7% positivity rate.
As per the National Department of Health, a further 30 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 90,773 to date.
21,038,633 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
| Sector | Total tested | New tested | ||
| Private | 11,349,554 | 53.9% | 34,311 | 59.5% |
| Public | 9,689,079 | 46.1% | 23,332 | 40.5% |
| Total | 21,038,633 | 100.0% | 57,643 | 100.0% |
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape (25%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (24%). Gauteng accounted for 19%; Eastern Cape accounted for 12% and Free State 5%. Mpumalanga and North West each accounted for 4%, Limpopo and Northern Cape each accounted for 3% of today’s new cases. The cumulative number of cases by province are shown in the table below:
| Province | Total cases for 24 December 2021 | Adjusted numbers after harmonisation | Updated total cases on 24 December 2021 | New cases on 25 December 2021 | Total cases for 25 December 2021 | Percentage total |
| Eastern Cape | 320,399 | 1 | 320,400 | 1,720 | 322,120 | 9.5 |
| Free State | 186,335 | 0 | 186,335 | 759 | 187,094 | 5.5 |
| Gauteng | 1,122,083 | 20 | 1,122,103 | 2,769 | 1,124,872 | 33.0 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 595,413 | 15 | 595,428 | 3,601 | 599,029 | 17.6 |
| Limpopo | 139,431 | 20 | 139,451 | 487 | 139,938 | 4.1 |
| Mpumalanga | 174,333 | -60 | 174,273 | 647 | 174,920 | 5.1 |
| North West | 176,813 | 1 | 176,814 | 585 | 177,399 | 5.2 |
| Northern Cape | 100,290 | -2 | 100,288 | 511 | 100,799 | 3.0 |
| Western Cape | 578,012 | 5 | 578,017 | 3,749 | 581,766 | 17.1 |
| Total | 3,393,109 | 0 | 3,393,109 | 14,828 | 3,407,937 | 100.0 |
THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is 25.7% which is lower than yesterday (29.4%). The 7-day average is 29.0% today, which is lower than yesterday (29.4%).
For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.
HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 80 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours. The following table is a summary of reported COVID-19 admissions by sector.
| Sector | Facilities Reporting | Admissions to Date | Died to Date | Currently Admitted |
| Private | 259 | 212,867 | 37,773 | 3,342 |
| Public | 407 | 251,685 | 58,205 | 5,747 |
| TOTAL | 666 | 464,552 | 95,978 | 9,089 |
VACCINE UPDATE
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.