Covid-19 update: Deaths, cases decrease in the past 24 hours

As of Saturday, 30 October, the cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases in South Africa is 2,921,886 with 300 new cases identified, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed.

This represents a 1.2% positivity rate.

Twelve more Covid-19 related deaths were reported, bringing the total number of deaths to 89,163.

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The total number of recoveries stood at 2,814,076 with a recovery rate of 96,3%.

18,525,613 tests in total have been conducted to date in both public and private sectors. The country currently has 18,647 active cases.

A further nine hospital admissions were reported in the past 24 hours.

The total number of vaccines administered in the country so far stands at 22,363,310.

Provincial breakdown

The majority of new Covid-19 cases are from Gauteng (19%), followed by Western Cape (17%) and KwaZulu-Natal (16%).

Free State then comes after accounting for 14%, while Northern Cape accounted for 12%.

Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga each accounted for 7% respectively; North West accounted for 5%; and Limpopo accounted for 3% of Saturday’s cases.

Global developments

Xi, Putin urge mutual vaccine recognition

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin call at the G20 summit for the mutual recognition of available anti-Covid vaccines, notably across members of the G20.

Neither is attending the summit in Rome and both made their appeal by video conference.

Beijing shutters cinemas

With 100 days to go before it hosts the Winter Olympic Games Beijing authorities order all cinemas closed until November 14 in the capital’s Xicheng district, amid new virus restrictions. The area lies west of Tiananmen Square and is home to over a million people.

Merkel concern over rising cases

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel expresses concern over a resurgence in cases in Germany. Warning against “a certain recklessness” in Germany, Merkel said increasing numbers of hospital admissions with coronavirus “worry me a lot.”

Paid holiday for Russia

With daily virus cases rising at record rates nationwide — Saturday day 40,251 new cases — Russia announces a week of paid holiday as well as new restrictions in Europe’s worst hit country by fatalities.

Although vaccinations have been freely available for months, just 32.5 percent of the population have been fully inoculated, according to latest data and epidemiologists are concerned at reports around one-third of Russians plan to travel during the holiday period.

Jordanian expulsion threat to unvaccinated

Jordan says it will deport any foreign workers who have not received two jabs by mid-December.

Tens of thousands of Egyptians, Filipinos and other nationalities work in the kingdom, which has opened centres dedicated to the free vaccination of Jordanians and foreigners.

Guest workers in the kingdom, which has recorded more than 11,000 Covid deaths to date, will not need to present either a residence or work permit in order to get vaccinated.

Additional reporting by AFP