Covid-19: South Africa records 1 735 new infections and 26 deaths

• South Africa recorded 1 735 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday.
• 26 new deaths have been reported, bringing the confirmed death toll to 99 543.
• Most new cases on Saturday were recorded in Gauteng.

South Africa recorded 1 735 new Covid-19 infections on Saturday, which represented a 5.8% positivity rate.

According to a statement by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), as of Saturday, the country recorded 3 683 172 laboratory-confirmed cases. There have been 26 new Covid-19-related deaths, bringing the confirmed death toll to 99 543.

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Most new cases on Saturday were recorded in Gauteng, which accounted for 35% of new infections, followed by the Western Cape with 24%. KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 16%; North West 7%; Free State, Limpopo and Mpumalanga 4% each; Eastern Cape 3%; the Northern Cape 2%.

On Saturday, Gauteng recorded 601 new cases, the Western Cape 410 and KwaZulu-Natal 284.

Gauteng has recorded 1 196 173 cumulative cases, KwaZulu-Natal 653 686 and the Western Cape 641 917.

There were 27 new hospital admissions in the last 24-hour reporting cycle. As of Saturday, 2 579 people were in public and private hospitals for Covid-19.

South Africa conducted 23 226 664 cumulative tests, of which 29 784 were carried out in the last 24-hour cycle.

According to the Department of Health, 32 018 307 vaccine doses have been administered. Of those, 26 436 were administered on Saturday.

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