LATEST CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19 IN SOUTH AFRICA (15 October 2021)

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, continues to provide laboratory-based surveillance to inform the public health response towards COVID-19 in South Africa.

Today the institute reports 733 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2,915,560. This increase represents a 2.3% positivity rate. As per the National Department of Health, a further 56 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 88,562 to date.

18,122,698 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

Sector Total tested New tested
PRIVATE 9,765,660 54% 15,422 48%
PUBLIC 8,357,038 46% 16,435 52%
Total 18,122,698 31,857

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN

The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape (22%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal accounting for 20%. Gauteng accounted for 15%; Eastern Cape and Free State each accounted for 11% respectively; North West accounted for 7%; Mpumalanga and Northern Cape each accounted for 5% respectively; and Limpopo accounted for 4% of today’s new cases. The cumulative number of cases by province is shown in the table below:

Province Total cases for 14 Oct 2021 Adjusted numbers after harmonisation Updated total cases on 14 Oct 2021 New cases on 15 Oct 2021 Total cases for 15 Oct 2021 Percentage total
Eastern Cape 291,790 0 291,790 78 291,868 10.0
Free State 162,622 0 162,622 80 162,702 5.6
Gauteng 918,207 0 918,207 111 918,318 31.5
KwaZulu-Natal 514,252 0 514,252 147 514,399 17.6
Limpopo 122,068 0 122,068 32 122,100 4.2
Mpumalanga 151,513 0 151,513 37 151,550 5.2
North West 150,168 0 150,168 49 150,217 5.2
Northern Cape 91,864 0 91,864 38 91,902 3.2
Western Cape 512,343 0 512,343 161 512,504 17.6
Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
Total 2,914,827 0 2,914,827 733 2,915,560 100.0

THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is 2.3% which is lower than yesterday (2.7%). The 7-day average is 2.6% today, which is lower than yesterday (2.7%).

For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 67 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours. The following table is a summary of reported COVID-19 admissions by sector.

Sector Facilities Reporting Admissions
to Date
Died to Date Currently Admitted
Private 258 200,129 36,909 2,984
Public 408 232,637 56,693 2,095
TOTAL 666 432,766 93,602 5,079

VACCINE UPDATE
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.

Thank you for your interest and remember that adhering to the following preventative measures helps to limit your risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19.

  • Getting vaccinated for COVID-19
  • Wearing your mask properly to cover your nose
  • Opting to gather in ventilated spaces
  • Avoid unnecessary gatherings
  • Keeping a social distance of one meter or more
  • Washing your hands regularly in the day with soap and water

For more information on COVID-19, click here.

Kind regards,
Sinenhlanhla Jimoh, Senior Communications Manager
National Institute for Communicable Diseases

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