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 868 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2,948,760. This increase represents a 2.1% positivity rate. As per the National Department of Health, a further 51 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 89,635 to date.
19,244,585 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
| Sector | Total tested | New tested | ||
| Private | 10,327,920 | 53.7% | 17,700 | 43.4% |
| Public | 8,916,665 | 46.3% | 23,091 | 56.6% |
| Total | 19,244,585 | 100.0% | 40,791 | 100.0% |
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The cumulative number of cases by province is shown in the table below:
| Province | New cases on 23 Nov 2021 | Total cases for 23 Nov 2021 | Percentage total |
| Eastern Cape | 26 | 293,047 | 9,9 |
| Free State | 21 | 165,349 | 5,6 |
| Gauteng | 605 | 931,717 | 31,6 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 31 | 517,837 | 17,6 |
| Limpopo | 23 | 123,174 | 4,2 |
| Mpumalanga | 47 | 153,419 | 5,2 |
| North West | 43 | 153,551 | 5,2 |
| Northern Cape | 20 | 93,183 | 3,2 |
| Western Cape | 52 | 517,483 | 17,5 |
| Total | 868 | 2,948,760 | 100,0 |
INCLUSION OF ANTIGEN TESTING DATA
As of today, retrospective antigen tests are being loaded to fill in gaps that existed while antigen test providers put systems in place to report to the National Department of Health (NDoH). The NICD and NHLS optimised the systems to accurately reflect these reports. Please refer to the media statement that was released by the NDoH on 23 November 2021.
The increase in cumulative cases in today’s report is attributed to the retrospective addition of 18 586 antigen tests, that include the reporting of 868 positive cases recorded in the past 24 hours. The incorporation of antigen tests follows ongoing improvements to report as accurately as possible from all provinces and all testing facilities throughout South Africa. 19 244 585 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
See below an updated table with the breakdown of cases (new/retrospective) reported in red.
| Province | Cumulative total cases as at 22 November 2021 | Adjusted numbers after harmonisation | Updated total cases on 22 November 2021 | New cases on 23 November 2021 | Retrospective case data | Cumulative total cases as at 23 November 2021 | Percentage total |
| Eastern Cape | 292691 | 0 | 292691 | 26 | 330 | 293047 | 9.9 |
| Free State | 163999 | 0 | 163999 | 21 | 1329 | 165349 | 5.6 |
| Gauteng | 923618 | 0 | 923618 | 605 | 7494 | 931717 | 31.6 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 516485 | 0 | 516485 | 31 | 1321 | 517837 | 17.6 |
| Limpopo | 122459 | -1 | 122458 | 23 | 693 | 123174 | 4.2 |
| Mpumalanga | 152405 | 1 | 152406 | 47 | 966 | 153419 | 5.2 |
| North West | 151045 | 0 | 151045 | 43 | 2463 | 153551 | 5.2 |
| Northern Cape | 93003 | 0 | 93003 | 20 | 160 | 93183 | 3.2 |
| Western Cape | 514469 | 0 | 514469 | 52 | 2962 | 517483 | 17.5 |
| Unknown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Total | 2930174 | 0 | 2930174 | 868 | 17718 | 2948760 | 100.0 |
Furthermore, the retrospective inclusion of these positive cases into the surveillance data will have no impact on case management, as those in question were immediately informed of their positive test result. It is important to note that the identification of these additional data are not unusual as data harmonisation remains an ongoing process.
For more information on COVID-19, click here.
Kind regards,
Sinenhlanhla Jimoh, Senior Communications Manager
National Institute for Communicable Diseases
