The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, continues the monitoring and surveillance of COVID-19 in order to inform the public health response.
Today the institute reports 5 683 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 383 490. This increase represents a 24.3% positivity rate.
As per the National Department of Health, a further 243 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 70 018 to date.
14 587 196 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
| Sector | Total tested | New tested | ||
| Private | 8 148 174 | 56% | 11 278 | 48% |
| Public | 6 439 022 | 44% | 12 071 | 52% |
| Total | 14 587 196 | 23 349 | ||
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from Gauteng (27%), followed by Western Cape (21%). KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 15%; Mpumalanga accounted for 10%; Eastern Cape accounted for 8%; Limpopo accounted for 6%; Free State and North West each accounted for 5%; and Northern Cape accounted for 3% of today’s new cases.
The cumulative number of cases by province is shown in the table below:
| Province | Total cases for 25 July 2021 | Adjusted numbers after harmonisation | Updated total cases on 25 July 2021 | New cases on 26 July 2021 | Total cases for 26 July 2021 |
| Eastern Cape | 223 477 | -1 | 223 476 | 459 | 223 935 |
| Free State | 126 276 | -9 | 126 267 | 275 | 126 542 |
| Gauteng | 843 204 | -17 | 843 187 | 1 559 | 844 746 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 385 385 | 0 | 385 385 | 832 | 386 217 |
| Limpopo | 107 985 | 22 | 108 007 | 336 | 108 343 |
| Mpumalanga | 120 062 | -9 | 120 053 | 579 | 120 632 |
| North West | 123 827 | -12 | 123 815 | 300 | 124 115 |
| Northern Cape | 65 383 | 1 | 65 384 | 151 | 65 535 |
| Western Cape | 382 224 | 9 | 382 233 | 1 192 | 383 425 |
| Total | 2 377 823 | -16 | 2 377 807 | 5 683 | 2 383 490 |
THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The total number of cases today (n= 5 683) is lower than yesterday (n= 9 718) and lower than the average number of new cases per day over the 7 preceding days (n= 11 600). The 7-day moving average daily number of cases has decreased.
For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.
HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 479 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 | 257 | 170 535 | 30 148 | 8 553 |
| Public | 411 | 185 094 | 44 152 | 7 859 |
| TOTAL | 668 | 355 629 | 74 300 | 16 412 |
VACCINE UPDATE
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.
Thank you for your interest and remember that adhering to preventative measures limits your risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19. For more information on COVID-19, click here.
Kind regards,
Sinenhlanhla Jimoh, Senior Communications Manager
National Institute for Communicable Diseases
