Be Smart About South Africa

NICD Reports 868 New COVID-19 Cases

The NICD reports 868 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2,948,760. This increase represents a 2.1% positivity rate.As per the National Department of Health, a further 51 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 89,635 to date.

19,244,585 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

Sector	Total tested	New tested
Private	10,327,920	53.7%	17,700	43.4%
Public	8,916,665	46.3%	23,091	56.6%
Total	19,244,585	100.0%	40,791	100.0%

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN

The cumulative number of cases by province is shown in the table below:

Province	New cases on 23 Nov 2021	Total cases for 23 Nov 2021	Percentage total
Eastern Cape	495	293,047	9,9
Free State	21	165,349	5,6
Gauteng	605	931,717	31,6
KwaZulu-Natal	31	517,837	17,6
Limpopo	23	123,174	4,2
Mpumalanga	47	153,419	5,2
North West	43	153,551	5,2
Northern Cape	20	93,183	3,2
Western Cape	52	517,483	17,5
Total	868	2,948,760	100,0

INCLUSION OF ANTIGEN TESTING DATA

As of today, retrospective antigen tests are being loaded to fill in gaps that existed while antigen test providers put systems in place to report to the National Department of Health (NDoH). The NICD and NHLS optimised the systems to accurately reflect these reports. Please refer to the media statement that was released by the NDoH on 23 November 2021.

The increase in cumulative cases in today’s report is attributed to the retrospective addition of 18 586 antigen tests, that include the reporting of 868 positive cases recorded in the past 24 hours. The incorporation of antigen tests follows ongoing improvements to report as accurately as possible from all provinces and all testing facilities throughout South Africa. 19 244 585 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

See below an updated table with the breakdown of cases (new/retrospective) reported in red.

Province	Cumulative total cases as at 22 November 2021	Adjusted numbers after harmonisation	Updated total cases on 22 November 2021	New cases on 23 November 2021	Retrospective case data	Cumulative total cases as at 23 November 2021	Percentage total
Eastern Cape	292691	0	292691	26	330	293047	9.9
Free State	163999	0	163999	21	1329	165349	5.6
Gauteng	923618	0	923618	605	7494	931717	31.6
KwaZulu-Natal	516485	0	516485	31	1321	517837	17.6
Limpopo	122459	-1	122458	23	693	123174	4.2
Mpumalanga	152405	1	152406	47	966	153419	5.2
North West	151045	0	151045	43	2463	153551	5.2
Northern Cape	93003	0	93003	20	160	93183	3.2
Western Cape	514469	0	514469	52	2962	517483	17.5
Unknown	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
Total	2930174	0	2930174	868	17718	2948760	100.0

Furthermore, the retrospective inclusion of these positive cases into the surveillance data will have no impact on case management, as those in question were immediately informed of their positive test result. It is important to note that the identification of these additional data are not unusual as data harmonisation remains an ongoing process.

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