20 October 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.

Today the institute reports 453 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 917 255. This increase represents a 1.6% positivity rate.

As per the National Department of Health, a further 50 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 88 674 to date.

 18 217 612 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

Sector Total tested New tested
PRIVATE                  9 818 921 54% 16 032 57%
PUBLIC 8 398 691 46% 12 307 43%
Total 18 217 612   28 339  

 

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN

The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal (23%), followed by Gauteng Province (21%), and Western Cape (19%). Free State accounted for 10%; Mpumalanga accounted for 9%; Northern Cape accounted for 7%; North West accounted for 6%; Eastern Cape accounted for 5%; 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 18 October 2021 Adjusted numbers after harmonisation Updated total cases on 18 October 2021 New cases on 19 October 2021 Total cases for 19 October 2021 Percentage total
Eastern Cape 291980 1 291981 24 292005 10.0
Free State 162850 -4 162846 46 162892 5.6
Gauteng 918536 1 918537 94 918631 31.5
KwaZulu-Natal 514623 0 514623 103 514726 17.6
Limpopo 122129 0 122129 6 122135 4.2
Mpumalanga 151606 0 151606 40 151646 5.2
North West 150295 2 150297 26 150323 5.2
Northern Cape 92014 -1 92013 30 92043 3.2
Western Cape 512770 0 512770 84 512854 17.6
Total 2916803 -1 2916802 453 2917255 100.0

 THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is 1.6% which is higher than yesterday (1.4%). The 7-day average is 2.1% today, which is the same as yesterday. 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 56 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 258 200,301 36,951 2,883
Public 408 232,915 56,737 1,930
TOTAL 666 433,216 93,688 4,813

 

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

Thank you for your interest and remember that adhering to preventative measures such as

  • 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, and
  • Washing your hands regularly in the day with soap and water,

helps to limit your risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19.

For more information on COVID-19, click here.