Covid-19 update: 15 new deaths reported in SA

As of Tuesday, South Africa has reported a total of 89,504 Covid-19 related deaths, with 15 deaths reported in the past 24 hours.

273 new Covid-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2.926,348. 

This increase represents a 0.9% positivity rate. 

The majority of new cases today are from Gauteng (54%), followed by Western Cape (11%). KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 10%; Free State accounted for 7%; Mpumalanga accounted for 6%; North West accounted for 4%; Eastern Cape and Northern Cape each accounted for 3%; and Limpopo accounted for 1% of today’s new cases.

18.962,806 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, has announced.

There has been an increase of 35 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours.

3,636 Covid-19 vaccines wasted in Gauteng, says health MEC

Gauteng health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi has revealed thatCovid-19 vaccine vials have been wasted – 191 Pfizer and 498 Johnson & Johnson (J&J).

This amounts to 3,636 doses in total, as there are six doses in a Pfizer vial and five in a J&J vial.

Mokgethi was replying to questions from the DA’s member of the provincial legislature (MPL) Jack Bloom in the Gauteng legislature on Tuesday.

Mokgethi said the wasted doses resulted from opened vials not being used on time because people were either not returning for their second doses or because not enough people showed up to get their jabs.

Power failures had also led to some of the vials being spoiled, and some vaccines had expired. 

Only 29% of adults in Gauteng are fully vaccinated compared to 34% for South Africa as a whole and 40% or more in the Western Cape, Free State and Limpopo.

READ MORE: 3,636 Covid-19 vaccines wasted in Gauteng, says health MEC

Additional reporting by Narissa Subramoney