3 December 2021   
Statement
LATEST CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19 IN SOUTH AFRICA (3 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 16,055 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3,004,203. This increase represents a 24.3% positivity rate. 

As per the National Department of Health, a further 25 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 89,944 to date.

19,646,423 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

Sector

Total tested

New tested

Private

10,556,852

53.7%

37,606

57.0%

Public

9,089,571

46.3%

28,384

44.0%

Total

19,646,423

100.0%

65,990

100.0%

 
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN

The majority of new cases today are from Gauteng (72%). Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal each accounted for 6% and North West 5%. Mpumalanga accounted for 4%; Limpopo 3% and Free State and Eastern Cape each accounted for 2%. Northern Cape accounted for 1% of today’s new cases. The cumulative number of cases by province is shown in the table below:
 

Province

Total cases for 02 December 2021

Adjusted numbers after harmonisation

Updated total cases on 02 December 2021

New cases on 03 December 2021

Total cases for 03 December 2021

Percentage total

Eastern Cape

293,547

0

293,547

292

293,839

9.8

Free State

165,987

0

165,987

296

166,283

5.5

Gauteng

961,300

1

961,301

11,553

972,854

32.4

KwaZulu-Natal

519,697

1

519,698

897

520,595

17.3

Limpopo

124,404

-2

124,402

500

124,902

4.2

Mpumalanga

154,803

-2

154,801

662

155,463

5.2

North West

155,153

2

155,155

805

155,960

5.2

Northern Cape

93,460

0

93,460

93

93,553

3.1

Western Cape

519,797

0

519,797

957

520,754

17.3

Total

2,988,148

0

2,988,148

16,055

3,004,203

100.0

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

The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is 24.3% which is higher than yesterday (22.4%). The 7-day average is 14.7% today, which is higher than yesterday (12.6%). 


 
For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS

There has been an increase of 279 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

202,075

37,400

1,620

Public

407

237,651

57,284

1,582

TOTAL

665

439,726

94,684

3,202

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.