Covid-19 update: Gauteng accounts for 60% of new cases

As of Monday, South Africa has recorded a total of 2,075,409 positive cases of Covid-19, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has announced.

The country recorded 12,513 new Covid-19 cases, representing a 31.6% positivity rate.

331 more Covid-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 62,171 to date.

13 489 570 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors.

The majority of new cases today are from Gauteng (60%), followed by WC (10%). Limpopo accounted for 7%; KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 6%, North West and Mpumalanga each accounted for 5%; Eastern Cape accounted for 3%; Free State accounted for 2%; and Northern Cape accounted for 1% .

An increase of 566 hospital admissions have been reported in the past 24 hours.

ALSO READ: Almost 10,000 teachers, support staff refuse Covid jab in Gauteng

Here are the latest developments in the Covid-19 crisis:

– UK full easing plan

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will give a press conference to unveil the plan to lift restrictions from July 19, while urging the population to “learn to live with” the virus.

– Australia vaccine crisis –

Getting vaccinated in Australia is like “The Hunger Games” a top health official admits, as the country battles scarce supplies during a growing outbreak.

– Upbeat Biden –

President Joe Biden celebrates US Independence Day with an upbeat assessment of a country he says is roaring back to post-pandemic life, even if Covid-19 has yet to be fully “vanquished.”

– Queen to honour NHS –

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth will award the UK’s state-run National Health Service (NHS) the country’s highest civilian honour in recognition of health workers’ service during the pandemic, the government announces.

– China-Myanmar border city –

The Chinese city of Ruili near the border with Myanmar imposes a lockdown and starts mass testing after three cases are reported, making it the second time in four months the city of 210,000 people has been locked down.

– Malaysia parliament –

Malaysia’s parliament will sit this month after being suspended in January under a pandemic emergency, following criticism the embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was using the crisis to cling to power.

– Asian football reduces schedule –

Asian Champions League knockout matches will this year be played over single legs from the quarter-finals onwards because of the pandemic, rather than the usual home and away format, officials say.

– Nearly 4 million dead –

The pandemic has killed at least 3,980,935 people since the virus first emerged in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data at 1000 GMT on Monday.

The United States is the worst-affected country with 605,526 deaths, followed by Brazil with 524,417, India with 402,728, Mexico with 233,622 and Peru with 193,230.

The figures are based on reports by health authorities in each country, but do not take into account upward revisions carried out later by statistical bodies.

The World Health Organization says up to three times more people have died directly or indirectly due to the pandemic than official figures suggest.