LATEST CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19 IN SOUTH AFRICA (31 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 230 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2,922,116. This increase represents a 1.2% positivity rate.  As per the National Department of Health, a further 14 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 89,177 to date.

18,544,880 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

SectorTotal testedNew tested
PRIVATE9,991,59353.9%11,40159.2%
PUBLIC8,553,28746.1%7,86640.8%
Total18,544,88019,267

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN

The majority of new cases today are from Mpumalanga (20%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal accounting for 18%. Gauteng accounted for 16%; Western Cape accounted for 13%; Free State accounted for 11%; Northern Cape and Eastern Cape each accounted for 8% respectively; North West accounted for 6%; and Limpopo accounted for 0% of today’s new cases. The cumulative number of cases by province is shown in the table below:

ProvinceTotal cases for 30 Oct 2021Adjusted numbers after harmonisationUpdated total cases on 30 Oct 2021New cases on 31 Oct 2021Total cases for 31 Oct 2021Percentage total
Eastern Cape29234402923441929236310,0
Free State1634380163438261634645,6
Gauteng91954109195413691957731,5
KwaZulu-Natal51558505155854251562717,6
Limpopo122263012226301222634,2
Mpumalanga1519590151959451520045,2
North West1506290150629161506425,2
Northern Cape9248009248018924983,2
Western Cape51364705136473151367817,6
Unknown000000,0
Total2921589029215892302922116100,0

THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The total number of cases today (n=230) is lower than yesterday (n=300) and higher than the average number of cases per day over the 7 preceding days (n=355).

For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 11 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
Private258200,68337,1232,364
Public408233,91556,9331,492
TOTAL666434,59894,0563,856

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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