17 September 2021
Statement
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.
The current surge in COVID-19 infections seems to be showing signs of a sustained downward trend. Today the institute reports 3 648 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 877 063. This increase represents a 8.3% positivity rate.
As per the National Department of Health, a further 173 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 85 952 to date.
17 280 650 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
| Sector | Total tested | New tested | ||
| PRIVATE | 9 344 419 | 54% | 19 428 | 44% |
| PUBLIC | 7 936 231 | 46% | 24 531 | 56% |
| Total | 17 280 650 | 43 959 | ||
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape (21%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (20%). Eastern Cape accounted for 18%; Free State accounted for 11%; Gauteng Province accounted for 10%; Northern Cape accounted for 7%; Mpumalanga & North West each accounted for 6% respectively; and Limpopo 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 16 September 2021 | Adjusted numbers after harmonisation | Updated total cases on 16 September 2021 | New cases on 17 September 2021 | Total cases for 17 September 2021 | Percentage total |
| Eastern Cape | 286318 | 0 | 286 318 | 661 | 286979 | 10,0 |
| Free State | 158027 | 0 | 158 027 | 399 | 158426 | 5,5 |
| Gauteng | 913134 | 3 | 913 137 | 376 | 913513 | 31,8 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 504823 | 0 | 504 823 | 744 | 505567 | 17,6 |
| Limpopo | 121465 | 0 | 121 465 | 39 | 121504 | 4,2 |
| Mpumalanga | 149374 | 0 | 149 374 | 216 | 149590 | 5,2 |
| North West | 147908 | -3 | 147 905 | 218 | 148123 | 5,1 |
| Northern Cape | 87808 | -1 | 87 807 | 247 | 88054 | 3,1 |
| Western Cape | 504558 | 1 | 504 559 | 748 | 505307 | 17,6 |
| Unknown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0,0 |
| Total | 2873415 | 0 | 2 873 415 | 3648 | 2877063 | 100,0 |
THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The total number of cases today (n= 3 648) is lower than yesterday (n= 4 215) and lower than the average number of new cases per day over the 7 preceding days (n= 4 020). The 7-day moving average daily number of cases has decreased.
For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.
HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 199 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 | 255 | 196 516 | 36 046 | 4 287 |
| Public | 409 | 227 157 | 55 228 | 4 789 |
| TOTAL | 664 | 423 673 | 91 274 | 9 076 |
VACCINE UPDATE
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.
Thank you for your interest and remember that adhering to preventative measures limits your risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19. For more information on COVID-19, click here.
