Covid-19 update: 8,411 new cases, 182 more deaths confirmed

As of Saturday, 4 September, the cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases in South Africa is 2,814,014 with 8,411 new cases identified, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed.

This represents a 15.5% positivity rate.

182 more Covid-19 related deaths were reported, bringing the total number of deaths to 83,343. The total number of recoveries stood at 2,586,646 with a recovery rate of 91,9%.

16,708,682 tests in total have been conducted to date in both public and private sectors. The country currently has 144,025 active cases.

A further 255 hospital admissions were reported in the past 24 hours. The total number of vaccines administered in the country so far stands at 13,430,600.

Provincial breakdown

The majority of the new Covid-19 cases are from KwaZulu-Natal (30%), followed by Western Cape (21%) and Eastern Cape (15%).

Free State then follows accounting for 9%, while Gauteng and Northern Cape each accounted for 6% respectively.

Mpumalanga and North West each accounted for 5% respectively, and Limpopo Province accounted for 2% of Saturday’s cases. 

Global developments

Anti-vaxx clashes

Anti-vaccination protesters clash with police in London as some try to storm the offices of the UK regulator that approves vaccines, with police saying four officers were hurt.

EU and AstraZeneca settle dispute

The European Union and UK-based drugs giant AstraZeneca announced that they have reached a settlement in a dispute over a shortfall in vaccine deliveries.

Delta in Niger

The first cases of the Delta variant of Covid-19 have been recorded in Niger, which until now has been relatively spared in the pandemic.

Air quality blip

Pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions caused dramatic but short-lived improvements in air quality and drops in pollution, the UN says.

Singapore booster shots

Singapore will start giving coronavirus vaccine booster shots to the elderly and those with weak immune systems as cases rise despite high inoculation rates.

US hiring slumps

The United States added far fewer jobs than expected in August as businesses grappled with the Delta wave of Covid-19.

No shots for 12-15s advice

The UK government’s independent advisory body on vaccines says it will not recommend jabbing all 12- to 15-year-olds against coronavirus, arguing the benefits were “too small”.

Malaysian holiday island to reopen

The island of Langkawi will this month become the first Malaysian holiday hotspot to reopen to domestic travellers, kicking off efforts to revive the coronavirus-battered tourism industry.

More than 4.5 million dead

The coronavirus has killed at least 4,539,397 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data. 

The US is the worst-affected country with 643,669 deaths, followed by Brazil with 581,914, India with 439,895, Mexico with 261,496 and Peru with 198,364.

Based on the latest reports, the countries with the newest deaths were the US with 1,549, followed by Mexico with 993 and Russia with 799.