LATEST CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19 IN SOUTH AFRICA (26 December 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 5,604 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3,413,540. This increase represents a 27.2% positivity rate. 

As per the National Department of Health, a further 41 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 90,814 to date.

21,059,203 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

Sector Total tested New tested
Private 11,362,335 54.0% 12,781 62.1%
Public 9,696,868 46.0% 7,789 37.9%
Total 21,059,203 100.0% 20,570 100.0%


PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN

The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape (28%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (26%). Gauteng accounted for 17%; Eastern Cape accounted for 9%. Free State 5% and North West each accounted for 5%, Mpumalanga 4%. Limpopo and Northern Cape each accounted for 3% of today’s new cases. The cumulative number of cases by province are shown in the table below:

Province Total cases for 25 December 2021 Adjusted numbers after harmonisation Updated total cases on 25 December 2021 New cases on 26 December 2021 Total cases for 26 December 2021 Percentage total
Eastern Cape 322,120 -1 322,119 523 322,642 9.5
Free State 187,094 0 187,094 270 187,364 5.5
Gauteng 1,124,872 0 1,124,872 956 1,125,828 33.0
KwaZulu-Natal 599,029 1 599,030 1,459 600,489 17.6
Limpopo 139,938 0 139,938 160 140,098 4.1
Mpumalanga 174,920 -1 174,919 225 175,144 5.1
North West 177,399 0 177,399 257 177,656 5.2
Northern Cape 100,799 0 100,799 189 100,988 3.0
Western Cape 581,766 0 581,766 1,565 583,331 17.1
Total 3,407,937 -1 3,407,936 5,604 3,413,540 100.0

 

THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE

The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is 27.2% which is higher than yesterday (25.7%). The 7-day average is 28.5% today, which is lower than yesterday (29.0%).

 

For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 42 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 259 212,885 37,773 3,352
Public 407 251,772 58,216 5,762
TOTAL 666 464,657 95,989 9,112

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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