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NICD Reports 16 080 New COVID-19 Cases In SA

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.

SectorTotal testedNew tested
Private11,119,95953.9%29,43252.8%
Public9,520,47546.1%26,31047.2%
Total20,640,434100.0%55,742100.0%

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:

ProvinceTotal cases for 17 December 2021Adjusted numbers after harmonisationUpdated total cases on 17 December 2021New cases on 18 December 2021Total cases for 18 December 2021Percentage total
Eastern Cape308,5520308,5521,566310,1189,4
Free State179,0511179,0521,060180,1125,5
Gauteng1,098,402381,098,4403,4301,101,87033,5
KwaZulu-Natal565,0961565,0974,202569,29917,3
Limpopo135,2277135,234498135,7324,1
Mpumalanga169,1232169,125624169,7495,2
North West170,319-50170,2691,294171,5635,2
Northern Cape97,353097,35344797,8003,0
Western Cape553,4061553,4072,959556,36616,9
Total3,276,52903,276,52916,0803,292,609100,0

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.

SectorFacilities ReportingAdmissions
to Date
Died to DateCurrently Admitted
Private259209,06237,5863,133
Public407245,95357,7364,782
TOTAL666455,01595,3227,915

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