The NICD reports 16,080 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3,292,609. This increase represents a 28.8% positivity rate. As per the National Department of Health, a further 48 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 90,345 to date.
20,640,434 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
| Sector | Total tested | New tested | ||
| Private | 11,119,959 | 53.9% | 29,432 | 52.8% |
| Public | 9,520,475 | 46.1% | 26,310 | 47.2% |
| Total | 20,640,434 | 100.0% | 55,742 | 100.0% |
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal (26%), followed by Gauteng (21%). Western Cape accounted for 18%; Eastern Cape accounted for 10%; North West accounted for 8%; Free State accounted for 7%; Mpumalanga accounted for 4%; Limpopo and Northern Cape each accounted for 3% respectively of today’s new cases. The cumulative number of cases by province are shown in the table below:
| Province | Total cases for 17 December 2021 | Adjusted numbers after harmonisation | Updated total cases on 17 December 2021 | New cases on 18 December 2021 | Total cases for 18 December 2021 | Percentage total |
| Eastern Cape | 308,552 | 0 | 308,552 | 1,566 | 310,118 | 9,4 |
| Free State | 179,051 | 1 | 179,052 | 1,060 | 180,112 | 5,5 |
| Gauteng | 1,098,402 | 38 | 1,098,440 | 3,430 | 1,101,870 | 33,5 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 565,096 | 1 | 565,097 | 4,202 | 569,299 | 17,3 |
| Limpopo | 135,227 | 7 | 135,234 | 498 | 135,732 | 4,1 |
| Mpumalanga | 169,123 | 2 | 169,125 | 624 | 169,749 | 5,2 |
| North West | 170,319 | -50 | 170,269 | 1,294 | 171,563 | 5,2 |
| Northern Cape | 97,353 | 0 | 97,353 | 447 | 97,800 | 3,0 |
| Western Cape | 553,406 | 1 | 553,407 | 2,959 | 556,366 | 16,9 |
| Total | 3,276,529 | 0 | 3,276,529 | 16,080 | 3,292,609 | 100,0 |
THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is 28.8% which is lower than yesterday (30.4%). The 7-day average is 31.0% today, which is higher than yesterday (29.2%).
For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.
HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 215 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 | 209,062 | 37,586 | 3,133 |
| Public | 407 | 245,953 | 57,736 | 4,782 |
| TOTAL | 666 | 455,015 | 95,322 | 7,915 |
VACCINE UPDATE
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.