As of Wednesday, the cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases in South Africa is 1,973,972 with 19,506 new cases identified, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed, representing a 27.6% positivity rate.
A further 383 Covid-19-related deaths have been reported, bringing the death toll in South Africa to 60,647. There are currently 165 283 active cases.
During the course of the pandemic, 1,748,042 people have recovered, which translates to a recovery rate of 88.6%. To date, 3 026 636 vaccines have been administered in South Africa.
An increase of 698 hospital admissions have been reported in the past 24 hours. There are currently 8,281 patients admitted at private facilities and 4,612 patients at public facilities.
Provincial breakdown
At the time of publishing, Gauteng accounts for the majority of new cases (11,160, or 57% of the daily total), followed by the Western Cape with 2,059 cases (11%) and North West with 1,428 cases (7%).
Limpopo reported 1,234 new cases, while Mpumalanga had 913 and KwaZulu-Natal 1, 265. In the Free State, 626 residents contracted Covid-19, along with 582 in the Eastern Cape and 239 in the Northern Cape.
As of 28 June 2021, South Africa is on an adjusted level 4 lockdown, with regulations to address, prevent and combat the current surge Covid-19, driven by the Delta variant.
Professor Tulio D’Oliveira, a member of the ministerial advisory committee, confirmed on Saturday the Delta variant, first detected in India, is now the dominant strain in South Africa.
Read more here: Delta variant now dominant strain in SA
Global Covid-19 statistics
At the time of publishing, Covid-19 is affecting 220 countries and territories. The global caseload now stands at 182,977,255, with the death toll at 3,962,824. Since the start of the pandemic, 167,555,859 patients have recovered.
The US is the worst affected with 620,249 deaths from 34,540,845. After the US, the hardest-hit countries are India with 399,475 deaths from 30,410,577 cases and Brazil with 518,246 deaths from 18,559,164 cases.
France reported 111,082 deaths from 5,775,301 cases while Russia recorded 135,214 deaths from 5,514,599 cases. South Africa is currently 19th on the list, preceded, in order, by Peru, Indonesia, Ukraine, Mexico, Poland, Iran, Germany, Spain, Colombia, Italy, Argentina, the UK, and Turkey. (World Meters Info)
In other news, the first international travellers for a quarantine-free scheme will touch down in the holiday hotspot of Phuket, as Thailand tries to reboot its depleted tourism industry despite enduring its worst virus outbreak.
Asian markets struggled Thursday despite another record close in New York, with investors keeping an eye on the rapidly spreading Delta virus variant, which has forced several governments to reimpose lockdowns.
Bangladesh went into a strict Covid-19 lockdown on Thursday, with the army and police ordered to stop people from leaving their homes, except for emergencies or to buy essentials. (AFP)