31 December 2021
Statement

LATEST CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19 IN SOUTH AFRICA (31 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 11,754 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3,458,286. This increase represents a 27.2% positivity rate. As per the National Department of Health, a further 84 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 91,145 to date.

21,231,024 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

Sector Total tested New tested
Private 11,455,035 54.0% 21,766 50.4%
Public 9,775,989 46.0% 21,394 49.6%
Total 21,231,024 100.0% 43,160 100.0%

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN

The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape (26%), followed by Kwa-Zulu Natal (25%). Gauteng accounted for 18%; Eastern Cape accounted for 12%; Free State accounted for 5%; Limpopo and Mpumalanga each accounted for 4% respectively; North West and Northern Cape each accounted for 3% respectively. The cumulative number of cases by province are shown in the table below:

Province Total cases for 30 December 2021 Adjusted numbers after harmonisation Updated total cases on 30 December 2021 New cases on 31 December 2021 Total cases for
31 December 2021
Percentage total
Eastern Cape 326,460 -2 326,458 1,414 327,872 9.5
Free State 188,971 1 1808,972 582 189,554 5.5
Gauteng 1,132,399 0 1,132,399 2,126 1,134,525 32.8
KwaZulu-Natal 609,469 0 609,469 2,935 612,404 17.7
Limpopo 141,149 0 141,149 426 141,575 4.1
Mpumalanga 176,415 0 176,415 425 176,840 5.1
North West 178,853 0 178,853 359 179,212 5.2
Northern Cape 101,724 -3 101,721 375 102,096 3.0
Western Cape 591,092 4 591,096 3,112 594,208 17.2
Total 3,446,532 0 3,446,532 11,754 3,458,286 100.0

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 lower than yesterday (28.1%).
The 7-day average is 25.7% today, which is lower than yesterday (26.0%).

For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS

There has been an increase of 418 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 259 216,733 38,017 3,525
Public 407 256,485 58,654 5,876
TOTAL 666 473,218 96,671 9,401

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.