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NICD Reports 15 465 New COVID-19 Cases

The NICD reports 15,465 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3,308,074. This increase represents a 30.7% positivity rate. As per the National Department of Health, a further 3 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 90,348 to date.

20,690,811 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

SectorTotal testedNew tested
Private11,152,35053.9%32,39164.3%
Public9,538,46146.1%17,98635.7%
Total20,690,811100.0%50,377100.0%

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal (27%), followed by Gauteng (23%). Western Cape accounted for 18%; Eastern Cape accounted for 8%; Free State accounted for 7%; Mpumalanga accounted for 6%; Limpopo and North West each accounted for 4% respectively; and Northern Cape accounted for 2% of today’s new cases. The cumulative number of cases by province are shown in the table below:

ProvinceTotal cases for 18 December 2021Adjusted numbers after harmonisationUpdated total cases on 18 December 2021New cases on 19 December 2021Total cases for 19 December 2021Percentage total
Eastern Cape310,1180310,1181,303311,421310,118
Free State180,1120180,1121,104181,216180,112
Gauteng1,101,87011,101,8713,5821,105,4531,101,870
KwaZulu-Natal569,2991569,3004135573,435569,299
Limpopo135,7320135,732573136,305135,732
Mpumalanga169,749-2169,747921170,668169,749
North West171,5630171,563661172,224171,563
Northern Cape97,800097,80033798,13797,800
Western Cape556,3660556,3662,849559,215556,366
Total3,292,60903,292,60915,4653,308,0743,292,609

THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is 30.7% which is higher than yesterday (28.8%). The 7-day average is 31.3% today, which is higher than yesterday (31.0%).

For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 87 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours. The following table is a summary of reported COVID-19 admissions by sector.

SectorFacilities ReportingAdmissions
to Date
Died to DateCurrently Admitted
Private259209,20037,5913,106
Public407246,15257,7474,845
TOTAL666455,35295,3387,951

VACCINE UPDATE
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.