Home South African 5 297 new Covid-19 infections in SA, another 318 deaths

5 297 new Covid-19 infections in SA, another 318 deaths

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The cumulative number of Covid-19 cases in the country now stands at 1 449 236 and the death toll at 43 951.

Outside the Covid-19 ward at the Ahmed Al-Kadi Private Hospital in Mayville, Durban. Picture: Sibusiso Ndlovu/African News Agency (ANA)

Cape Town – The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa has risen by 5 297 over the past 24 hours, and 318 more deaths have been recorded during the same period, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.

The cumulative number of Covid-19 cases in the country now stands at 1 449 236 and the death toll at 43 951.

With 26.8 percent of the total number of positive cases, Gauteng remains the province hardest hit by the virus since the start of the pandemic last year.

KwaZulu-Natal has the second-highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases, accounting for 21.6 percent of the country’s overall cases.

The Northern Cape has so far registered the lowest number of Covid-19 cases, 31851, accounting for 2.2 percent of the national total.

Covid-19 case data by province for January 30.

Testing

“The cumulative total of tests conducted to date is 8 245 124 with 41 540 new tests recorded since the last report,” Mkhize said on Saturday.

Deaths and recoveries

Of the 318 deaths recorded on Saturday, 112 were from KwaZulu-Natal, 85 from the Eastern Cape, 58 from Gauteng, 44 from the Western Cape, 15 from Mpumalanga, 6 from North West and 3 from the Northern Cape.

Covid-19 deaths, recoveries and active cases per province for January 30.

The number of patients who have recovered currently stands at 1 292 921, representing a recovery rate of 89 percent.

Doubt over effectiveness of vaccines

As South Africa awaits delivery of its first batch of vaccines, there are growing concerns internationally that the 501Y.V2 variant of the disease significantly reduces the efficacy of the lifesaving drugs.

On Friday, Johnson & Johnson said their vaccine was 66 percent effective overall in preventing people from contracting multiple variants Covid-19.

The company was reacting to the results of a global vaccine study which showed that the level of protection offered by vaccines varied significantly among the three continents where the large-scale trials are being conducted.

Mid-trial results put the efficacy of vaccines in South Africa at just 57 percent.

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