LATEST CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19 IN SOUTH AFRICA (29 October 2021)

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, continues to provide laboratory-based surveillance to inform the public health response towards COVID-19 in South Africa.

Today the institute reports 475 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2,921,589. This increase represents a 1.7% positivity rate.  As per the National Department of Health, a further 47 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 89,151 to date.

18,471,818 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

SectorTotal testedNew tested
PRIVATE9,967,36453.9%13,89049.4%
PUBLIC8,532,57546.1%14,23150.6%
Total18,499,93928,121

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN

The majority of new cases today are from Gauteng (35%), followed by Western Cape accounting for 13%. KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 12%; Free State and Northern Cape each accounted for 9% respectively; Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga each accounted for 7% respectively; North West and Limpopo each accounted for 4% of today’s new cases. The cumulative number of cases by province is shown in the table below:

ProvinceTotal cases for 28 Oct 2021Adjusted numbers after harmonisationUpdated total cases on 28 Oct 2021New cases on 29 Oct 2021Total cases for 29 Oct 2021Percentage total
Eastern Cape292297-52922923129232310,0
Free State1633503163353431633965,6
Gauteng919323191932416391948731,5
KwaZulu-Natal51547905154795951553817,6
Limpopo1222360122236191222554,2
Mpumalanga1519031151904331519375,2
North West1505960150596191506155,2
Northern Cape92401-29239944924433,2
Western Cape51352925135316451359517,6
Unknown000000,0
Total2921114029211144752921589100,0

THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The total number of cases today (n=475) is lower than yesterday (n=533) and higher than the average number of cases per day over the 7 preceding days (n=387).

For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 34 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours. The following table is a summary of reported COVID-19 admissions by sector.

SectorFacilities ReportingAdmissions
to Date
Died to DateCurrently Admitted
Private258200,65437,1212,360
Public408233,84256,9231,527
TOTAL666434,49694,0443,887

VACCINE UPDATE

For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.

Thank you for your interest and remember that adhering to the following preventative measures helps to limit your risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19.

  • Getting vaccinated for COVID-19
  • Wearing your mask properly to cover your nose
  • Opting to gather in ventilated spaces
  • Avoid unnecessary gatherings
  • Keeping a social distance of one meter or more
  • Washing your hands regularly in the day with soap and water

For more information on COVID-19, click here.

Kind regards,
Sinenhlanhla Jimoh, Senior Communications Manager
National Institute for Communicable Diseases

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