The NICD reports 5,604 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3,413,540. This increase represents a 27.2% positivity rate.
As per the National Department of Health, a further 41COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 90,814 to date.
21,059,203 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
| Sector | Total tested | New tested | ||
| Private | 11,362,335 | 54.0% | 12,781 | 62.1% |
| Public | 9,696,868 | 46.0% | 7,789 | 37.9% |
| Total | 21,059,203 | 100.0% | 20,570 | 100.0% |
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape (28%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (26%). Gauteng accounted for 17%; Eastern Cape accounted for 9%. Free State 5% and North West each accounted for 5%, Mpumalanga 4%. Limpopo and Northern Cape each accounted for 3% of today’s new cases. The cumulative number of cases by province are shown in the table below:
| Province | Total cases for 25 December 2021 | Adjusted numbers after harmonisation | Updated total cases on 25 December 2021 | New cases on 26 December 2021 | Total cases for 26 December 2021 | Percentage total |
| Eastern Cape | 322,120 | -1 | 322,119 | 523 | 322,642 | 9.5 |
| Free State | 187,094 | 0 | 187,094 | 270 | 187,364 | 5.5 |
| Gauteng | 1,124,872 | 0 | 1,124,872 | 956 | 1,125,828 | 33.0 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 599,029 | 1 | 599,030 | 1,459 | 600,489 | 17.6 |
| Limpopo | 139,938 | 0 | 139,938 | 160 | 140,098 | 4.1 |
| Mpumalanga | 174,920 | -1 | 174,919 | 225 | 175,144 | 5.1 |
| North West | 177,399 | 0 | 177,399 | 257 | 177,656 | 5.2 |
| Northern Cape | 100,799 | 0 | 100,799 | 189 | 100,988 | 3.0 |
| Western Cape | 581,766 | 0 | 581,766 | 1,565 | 583,331 | 17.1 |
| Total | 3,407,937 | -1 | 3,407,936 | 5,604 | 3,413,540 | 100.0 |
THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is 27.2% which is higher than yesterday (25.7%). The 7-day average is 28.5% today, which is lower than yesterday (29.0%).
For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.
HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 42 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 | 212,885 | 37,773 | 3,352 |
| Public | 407 | 251,772 | 58,216 | 5,762 |
| TOTAL | 666 | 464,657 | 95,989 | 9,112 |
VACCINE UPDATE
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.