It is 21st September, which means the country has official moved to lockdown alert level 1. With it comes an easing of restrictions, but as the recent report for COVID-19 in South Africa shows, citizens will still need to adhere to regulations such as mandatory mask wearing if we’re to overcome this pandemic.
To that end the past 24 hours has seen 1 555 new infections being recorded by the National Department of Health (NDoH), with the total to date now rising to 661 211.
As for the number of recoveries, they remain relatively high at 590 071. This translates to a recovery rate of 89.24 percent. The recovery rate has hovered around that percentage for some time, so it remains to be seen when it will surpass the crucial 90 percent mark.
Shifting to the number of fatalities, 13 more have been reported over the past 24 hours, with three being from the Eastern Cape, one from KwaZulu-Natal, three from Gauteng and six from the Western Cape. The total number of deaths related to COVID-19 in South Africa is now at 15 953, edging ever closer to the 16k mark,
With it only being day one of lockdown alter level 1, it remains to be seen what impact this move will have on the country’s daily infection rate. Hopefully South Africans still exercise caution when trying to return to normal.
The full breakdown of COVID-19 in South Africa is as follows:
Province | Confirmed Cases | Recoveries | Active cases | Deaths |
Western Cape | 109 507 | 101 896 | 7 611 | 4 117 |
Eastern Cape | 88 164 | 84 108 | 4 056 | 3 070 |
Northern Cape | 15 037 | 11 353 | 2 859 | 184 |
Free State | 44 037 | 29 049 | 14 988 | 838 |
KwaZulu-Natal | 117 743 | 108 004 | 9 739 | 2 531 |
North West | 28 171 | 23 829 | 4 342 | 325 |
Mpumalanga | 26 479 | 25 049 | 1 430 | 496 |
Gauteng | 217 370 | 193 513 | 23 857 | 4 030 |
Limpopo | 14 703 | 13 630 | 1073 | 362 |
Unknown | 0 | |||
TOTAL | 661 211 | 590 431 | 70 780 | 15 953 |
As always, in order to stay up to date with the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa and abroad, we advise the following materials and platforms:
- Dr Zweli Mkhize on Twitter
- COVID-19 Connect on WhatsApp – add 0600 123 456 as a contact and say “Hi”.
- World Health Organisation
- SA Coronavirus website
- SA Government
- SA Presidency
[Image – United Nations COVID-19 Response on Unsplash]