25 December
Statement
LATEST CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19 IN SOUTH AFRICA (25 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 14,828 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3,407,937. This increase represents a 25.7% positivity rate.

As per the National Department of Health, a further 30 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 90,773 to date.

21,038,633 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

Sector Total tested New tested
Private 11,349,554 53.9% 34,311 59.5%
Public 9,689,079 46.1% 23,332 40.5%
Total 21,038,633 100.0% 57,643 100.0%

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN

The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape (25%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (24%). Gauteng accounted for 19%; Eastern Cape accounted for 12% and Free State 5%. Mpumalanga and North West each accounted for 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 24 December 2021 Adjusted numbers after harmonisation Updated total cases on 24 December 2021 New cases on 25 December 2021 Total cases for 25 December 2021 Percentage total
Eastern Cape 320,399 1 320,400 1,720 322,120 9.5
Free State 186,335 0 186,335 759 187,094 5.5
Gauteng 1,122,083 20 1,122,103 2,769 1,124,872 33.0
KwaZulu-Natal 595,413 15 595,428 3,601 599,029 17.6
Limpopo 139,431 20 139,451 487 139,938 4.1
Mpumalanga 174,333 -60 174,273 647 174,920 5.1
North West 176,813 1 176,814 585 177,399 5.2
Northern Cape 100,290 -2 100,288 511 100,799 3.0
Western Cape 578,012 5 578,017 3,749 581,766 17.1
Total 3,393,109 0 3,393,109 14,828 3,407,937 100.0

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

The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is 25.7% which is lower than yesterday (29.4%). The 7-day average is 29.0% today, which is lower than yesterday (29.4%).

For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS

There has been an increase of 80 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 259 212,867 37,773 3,342
Public 407 251,685 58,205 5,747
TOTAL 666 464,552 95,978 9,089

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.