Covid-19 update: More than 13k cases reported overnight

Just shy of one week ago, acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane assured the country that the peak of the third wave of Covid-19 infections has passed. 

But at the same time, Gauteng-based doctors warned the worst of the third wave is yet to come, evident in the continued increases in Covid-19 daily infection rates.

As of Friday, the national health department recorded 13,025 new cases and 248 deaths. 

The country currently has a recovery rate of 90.7%, with Gauteng making up the vast majority of cases. 

So far, the province has confirmed 858,873 Covid-19 cases, followed by the Western Cape with 397,198. More than 16,000 people have died of Covid-19 in Gauteng alone so far. 

‘War’ on Covid-19 has changed 

The US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said in a leaked internal document that the Delta variant has changed the game in terms of controlling rising infections.

The US government agency said while vaccinations remain effective against severe illness and death, those vaccinated can still be contagious to other people. 

In addition, each person with the Delta variant infects at least eight others, making it as transmissible as chickenpox. 

“Delta is a warning: it’s a warning that the virus is evolving but it is also a call to action that we need to move now before more dangerous variants emerge,” the World Health Organisation’s emergencies director Michael Ryan told a press conference. 

China’s most serious surge of coronavirus infections in months spread to two more areas Saturday — Fujian province and the sprawling megacity of Chongqing.

Compiled by Nica Richards. Additional reporting by AFP