A passenger in a taxi looks on while the driver is being questioned by Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officers during a roadblock after curfew, to help curb the spread of COVID-19, in Johannesburg on December 29, 2020. Picture for illustration: Wikus de Wet / AFP.
The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Gauteng surged by 4374 at the start of the new year ahead of the return of holidaymakers to the province.
On Saturday, the provincial Coronavirus Command Council said it was concerned about the impact of the return of holidaymakers on the spread of the pandemic and that antigen testing would be conducted at roadblocks.
The N3 Toll Concession also warned of an expected increase in traffic volumes on Sunday as people head back to work in the coming week.
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However, numbers were already increasing in Gauteng, where 4 districts were declared as hotspots earlier in the week.
According to the Gauteng Department of Health, the number of confirmed Covid-19 in Gauteng as of 1 January 2021 sat at 291 392 with 254 657 recoveries and 5615 deaths.
On 31 December 2020, the province had 287 018 with 253 070 recoveries and 5549 deaths.
“Out of 190 825 contacts traced (these are individuals who were in contact with people who tested positive for Covid-19); 159 338 people have completed the 10 days monitoring period with no symptoms reported and therefore, they are de-isolated,” the Department said on Saturday.
A total number of 3176 people are currently hospitalised in public and private facilities in the province.
The Johannesburg metro registered more than 120,000 new Covid-cases in the reporting period with the majority of the metro’s cases coming from Doornkop, Soweto, Dobsonville, and Protea Glen.
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