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.
The current surge in COVID-19 infections seems to be showing signs of a sustained downward trend. Today the institute reports 2 281 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 882 630. This increase represents a 7.4% positivity rate.
As per the National Department of Health, a further 58 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 86 174 to date.
17 352 945 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
| Sector | Total tested | New tested | ||
| Private | 9 376 955 | 54% | 14 335 | 46% |
| Public | 7 975 990 | 46% | 16 652 | 54% |
| Total | 17 352 945 | 30 987 | ||
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal (23%), followed by Western Cape (17%). Northern Cape and Eastern Cape accounted for 14% each; Gauteng Province accounted for 10%; Free State accounted for 9%; Mpumalanga accounted for 6%; North West accounted for 5%; and Limpopo accounted for 1% of today’s new cases.
The cumulative number of cases by province is shown in the table below:
| Province | Total cases for 18 September 2021 | Adjusted numbers after harmonisation | Updated total cases on 18 September 2021 | New cases on 19 September 2021 | Total cases for 19 September 2021 | Percentage total |
| Eastern Cape | 287505 | 1 | 287506 | 321 | 287827 | 10,0 |
| Free State | 158804 | -5 | 158799 | 212 | 159011 | 5,5 |
| Gauteng | 913845 | 3 | 913848 | 235 | 914083 | 31,7 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 506401 | 0 | 506401 | 518 | 506919 | 17,6 |
| Limpopo | 121541 | 1 | 121542 | 24 | 121566 | 4,2 |
| Mpumalanga | 149757 | 0 | 149757 | 148 | 149905 | 5,2 |
| North West | 148364 | 0 | 148364 | 124 | 148488 | 5,2 |
| Northern Cape | 88322 | 0 | 88322 | 309 | 88631 | 3,1 |
| Western Cape | 505810 | 0 | 505810 | 390 | 506200 | 17,6 |
| Total | 2880349 | 0 | 2880349 | 2281 | 2882630 | 100,0 |
THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The total number of cases today (n= 2 281) is lower than yesterday (n= 3 286) and lower than the average number of new cases per day over the 7 preceding days (n= 3 491). The 7-day moving average daily number of cases has decreased.
For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.
HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 79 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 | 196 757 | 36 116 | 4 100 |
| Public | 409 | 227 428 | 55 281 | 4 642 |
| TOTAL | 664 | 424 185 | 91 397 | 8 742 |
VACCINE UPDATE
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.
Thank you for your interest and remember that adhering to preventative measures limits your risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19. For more information on COVID-19, click here.
Kind regards,
Sinenhlanhla Jimoh, Senior Communications Manager
National Institute for Communicable Diseases
