The institute reports 21,157 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3,374,262. This increase represents a 29.1% positivity rate.
As per the National Department of Health, a further 75 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 90,662 to date.
20,916,911 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
| Sector | Total tested | New tested | ||
| Private | 11,280,447 | 53.9% | 42,520 | 58.5% |
| Public | 9,636,464 | 46.1% | 30,169 | 41.5% |
| Total | 20,916,911 | 100.0% | 72,689 | 100.0% |
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal (25%), followed by Western Cape (22%). Gauteng accounted for 20%; Eastern Cape accounted for 12% and Free State 7%. North West accounted for 5%; Limpopo and Mpumalanga each 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:
| Province | Total cases for 22 December 2021 | Adjusted numbers after harmonisation | Updated total cases on 22 December 2021 | New cases on 23 December 2021 | Total cases for 23 December 2021 | Percentage total |
| Eastern Cape | 315,839 | 0 | 315,839 | 2,459 | 318,298 | 9.4 |
| Free State | 183,795 | 4 | 183,799 | 1,581 | 185,380 | 5.5 |
| Gauteng | 1,114,486 | 15 | 1,114,501 | 4,206 | 1,118,707 | 33.2 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 585,354 | 3 | 585,357 | 5,241 | 590,598 | 17.5 |
| Limpopo | 137,975 | 16 | 137,991 | 763 | 138,754 | 4.1 |
| Mpumalanga | 172,684 | -2 | 172,682 | 836 | 173,518 | 5.1 |
| North West | 174,877 | -42 | 174,835 | 1,073 | 175,908 | 5.2 |
| Northern Cape | 99,315 | 3 | 99,318 | 401 | 99,719 | 3.0 |
| Western Cape | 568,781 | 2 | 568,783 | 4,597 | 573,380 | 17.0 |
| Total | 3,353,106 | -1 | 3,353,105 | 21,157 | 3,374,262 | 100.0 |
THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is 29.1% which is lower than yesterday (30.6%). The 7-day average is 29.6% today, which is lower than yesterday (29.8%).
For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.
HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 411 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 | 212,078 | 37,720 | 3,603 |
| Public | 407 | 250,604 | 58,125 | 5,599 |
| TOTAL | 666 | 462,682 | 95,845 | 9,202 |
VACCINE UPDATE
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.