STATEMENT
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 10 748 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 690 973. This increase represents a 20.7% positivity rate. As per the National Department of Health, a further 170 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 79 421 to date.
16 003 114 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
| Sector | Total tested | New tested | ||
| PRIVATE | 8,793,627 | 55% | 21,047 | 41% |
| PUBLIC | 7,209,487 | 45% | 30,783 | 59% |
| Total | 16,003,114 | 51,830 | ||
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal (31%), followed by Western Cape (22%). Eastern Cape accounted for 16%; Gauteng accounted for 10%; Mpumalanga accounted 6%; Free State and Northern Cape accounted for 5% each; North West accounted for 4%; and Limpopo accounted for 2% of today’s new cases.
The cumulative number of cases by province is shown in the table below:
| Province | Total cases for 21 August 2021 | Adjusted numbers after harmonisation | Updated total cases on 21 August 2021 | New cases on 22 August 2021 | Total cases for 22 August 2021 | Percentage total |
| Eastern Cape | 253 230 | 1 | 253 231 | 1 704 | 254 935 | 9.5 |
| Free State | 141 603 | 2 | 141 605 | 515 | 142 120 | 5.3 |
| Gauteng | 897 182 | -23 | 897 159 | 1 022 | 898 181 | 33.4 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 450 781 | 0 | 450 781 | 3 369 | 454 150 | 16.9 |
| Limpopo | 118 071 | 4 | 118 075 | 215 | 118 290 | 4.4 |
| Mpumalanga | 139 558 | 10 | 139 568 | 690 | 140 258 | 5.2 |
| North West | 139 438 | 3 | 139 441 | 409 | 139 850 | 5.2 |
| Northern Cape | 76 235 | 3 | 76 238 | 488 | 76 726 | 2.9 |
| Western Cape | 464 127 | 0 | 464 127 | 2 336 | 466 463 | 17.3 |
| Total | 2 680 225 | 0 | 2 680 225 | 10 748 | 2 690 973 | 100.0 |
THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The total number of cases today (n= 10 748) is lower than yesterday (n= 13 261) and lower than the average number of new cases per day over the 7 preceding days (n= 12 198). The 7-day moving average daily number of cases has increased.
For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.
HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 219 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 | 255 | 187 273 | 34 030 | 6 370 |
| Public | 409 | 209 223 | 50 715 | 7 140 |
| TOTAL | 664 | 396 496 | 84 745 | 13 510 |
VACCINE UPDATE
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.
Kind regards,
Sinenhlanhla Jimoh, Senior Communications Manager
National Institute for Communicable Diseases
