It is the first of December, and while it would normally mark the festive season kicking off in earnest, as well as several businesses beginning to wind down for the end of year, the threat of a fourth wave of infections for COVID-19 in South Africa looms large.

We are yet to see massive surges, as was the case with the previous waves, but the latest report from the NDoH confirms that infections are rising.

To that end, 4 373 cases have been recorded in the past 24 hours, as the impact and effect of the omicron variant of the virus is still being assessed.

The result sees the total number of infections recorded to date rise to 2 968 052. Of the newly recorded cases, Gauteng once again accounts for the majority, with the latest statistics shared by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) noting that the province has registered 3 143 infections.

As for fatalities, 21 have been reported as the death toll related to COVID-19 in South Africa now sits at 89 843. The recovery rate has also fallen slightly as a result of this latest rise in numbers, with it currently 96 percent.

Shifting to the vaccine rollout, the past 24 hours has seen 175 395 jabs administered, which is a figure that government hopes to see increase significantly in the coming weeks.

As of 17:00 on 30th November, a total of 25 619 891 vaccines have been administered, while an estimated 14 475 754 people fully vaccinated at this stage.

The full outlook for COVID-19 in South Africa follows on below:

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:

• 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 – Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash]