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NICD Reports 21 099 New COVID-19 Cases

The institute reports 21,099 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3,353,106. This increase represents a 30.6% positivity rate.

As per the National Department of Health, a further 99COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 90,587 to date.

20,844,222 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

SectorTotal testedNew tested
Private11,237,92753.9%39,80057.7%
Public9,606,29546.1%29,21442.3%
Total20,844,222100.0%69,014100.0%

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN

The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal (26%), followed by Western Cape (22%). Gauteng accounted for 18% and Eastern Cape 11%. Free State and North West each accounted for 6% and Mpumalanga 5%.  Limpopo accounted for 4% 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 21 December 2021Adjusted numbers after harmonisationUpdated total cases on 21 December 2021New cases on 22 December 2021Total cases for 22 December 2021
Eastern Cape313,5120313,5122,327315,839
Free State182,5482182,5501,245183,795
Gauteng1,110,67631,110,6793,8071,114,486
KwaZulu-Natal579,9412579,9435,411585,354
Limpopo137,180-16137,164811137,975
Mpumalanga171,5617171,5681,116172,684
North West173,6051173,6061,271174,877
Northern Cape98,813098,81350299,315
Western Cape564,1720564,1724,609568,781
Total3,332,008-13,332,00721,0993,353,106


THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE

The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is 30,6% which is higher than yesterday (27,6%). The 7-day average is 29,8% today, which is lower than yesterday (30,1%).

For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 593 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
Private259211,77437,7013,741
Public407249,65658,0175,583
TOTAL666461,43095,7189,324

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