Covid-19 update: 358 new cases, 24 more deaths

As of Saturday, South Africa has recorded a total of 89,319 Covid-19 related deaths, with 24 new deaths reported in the past 24 hours.

358 new Covid-19 cases have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 923 751.

This increase represents a 1.2% positivity rate, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, announced.

The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal (18%), followed by Gauteng Province (30%). Free State accounted for 15%; Western Cape accounted for 11%; Eastern Cape 6%, Mpumalanga 10% and Northern Cape 4%; North West accounted for 4%, and Limpopo accounted for 3% of today’s new cases.   

18 699 684 tests have been conducted in both the public and private sectors.

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There has been an increase of 22 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours. 

– Pfizer says pill 89% effective –

Pfizer says a clinical trial of its first pill to treat Covid-19 shows it achieved an 89 per cent reduction in risk of hospitalisation or death among adult patients with Covid at high risk of progressing to severe illness.

– US jobs boost –

More than 531,000 Americans went back to work in October as Covid-19 cases receded, indicating the world’s largest economy had overcome the obstacle posed by the Delta wave of the virus.

– France sticks with Covid pass –

France’s lower house of parliament votes to allow the government to make use of a health pass to fight against Covid-19 till July 31, 2022. President Emmanuel Macron is to address the nation on Tuesday.

– Iceland tightens rules –

Iceland says it will tighten its Covid rules in the battle against a rise in new cases, including capping gatherings and wearing masks in crowded areas.

– Danish hospitals under strain –

Health authorities in Denmark express concern that the hospital system is about to be overwhelmed given a resurgence in Covid-19 cases in the kingdom, where the last health restrictions were lifted a month ago.

– More than five million dead –

The coronavirus has killed at least 5,028,536 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP on Friday. 

Additional reporting by AFP