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 13 672 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 652 652. This increase represents a 19.9% positivity rate. As per the National Department of Health, a further 317 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 78 694 to date.
15 821 074 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
| Sector | Total tested | New tested | ||
| PRIVATE | 8 718 491 | 55% | 33 053 | 48% |
| PUBLIC | 7 102 583 | 45% | 35 487 | 52% |
| Total | 15 821 074 | 68 540 | ||
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal (29%), followed by Western Cape (27%). Eastern Cape accounted for 11%; Gauteng accounted for 12%; Free State accounted for 6%; Mpumalanga accounted for 5%; Northern Cape and North West accounted for 4% each; 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 18 August 2021 | Adjusted numbers after harmonisation | Updated total cases on 18 August 2021 | New cases on 19 August 2021 | Total cases for 19 August 2021 | Percentage total |
| Eastern Cape | 248 118 | 0 | 248 118 | 1 436 | 249 554 | 9.4 |
| Free State | 139 064 | 3 | 139 067 | 851 | 139 918 | 5.3 |
| Gauteng | 892 734 | 15 | 892 749 | 1 579 | 894 328 | 33.7 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 438 786 | 1 | 438 787 | 3 911 | 442 698 | 16.7 |
| Limpopo | 117 169 | 3 | 117 172 | 262 | 117 434 | 4.4 |
| Mpumalanga | 137 389 | -3 | 137 386 | 725 | 138 111 | 5.2 |
| North West | 137 694 | -21 | 137 673 | 600 | 138 273 | 5.2 |
| Northern Cape | 74 598 | 0 | 74 598 | 601 | 75 199 | 2.8 |
| Western Cape | 453 429 | 1 | 453 430 | 3 707 | 457 137 | 17.2 |
| Total | 2 638 981 | -1 | 2 638 980 | 13 672 | 2 652 652 | 100.0 |
THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The total number of cases today (n= 13 672) is lower than yesterday (n= 14 728) and higher than the average number of new cases per day over the 7 preceding days (n= 12 021). 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 536 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 | 185 988 | 33 693 | 6 827 |
| Public | 409 | 207 331 | 50 355 | 7 113 |
| TOTAL | 664 | 393 319 | 83 048 | 13 940 |
VACCINE UPDATE
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.
Kind regards,
Sinenhlanhla Jimoh, Senior Communications Manager
National Institute for Communicable Diseases
