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 14 312 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 666 964. This increase represents a 21.6% positivity rate. As per the National Department of Health, a further 289 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 78 983 to date.
15 887 454 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
| Sector | Total tested | New tested | ||
| PRIVATE | 8 747 025 | 55% | 28 534 | 43% |
| PUBLIC | 7 140429 | 45% | 37 846 | 57% |
| Total | 15 887 454 | 66 380 | ||
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal (29%), followed by Western Cape (27%). Eastern Cape accounted for 12%; Gauteng accounted for 10%; Free State and Mpumalanga accounted for 6% each; Northern Cape accounted for 4%; North West accounted for 3%; 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 19 August 2021 | Adjusted numbers after harmonisation | Updated total cases on 19 August 2021 | New cases on 20 August 2021 | Total cases for 20 August 2021 | Percentage total |
| Eastern Cape | 249 554 | 0 | 249 554 | 1 694 | 251 248 | 9.4 |
| Free State | 139 918 | 1 | 139 919 | 850 | 140 769 | 5.3 |
| Gauteng | 894 328 | 5 | 894 333 | 1 468 | 895 801 | 33.6 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 442 698 | 1 | 442 699 | 4 198 | 446 897 | 16.8 |
| Limpopo | 117 434 | 3 | 117 437 | 326 | 117 763 | 4.4 |
| Mpumalanga | 138 111 | 0 | 138 111 | 868 | 138 979 | 5.2 |
| North West | 138 273 | -10 | 138 263 | 482 | 138 745 | 5.2 |
| Northern Cape | 75 199 | -1 | 75 198 | 598 | 75 796 | 2.8 |
| Western Cape | 457 137 | 1 | 457 138 | 3 828 | 460 966 | 17.3 |
| Total | 2 652 652 | 0 | 2 652 652 | 14 312 | 2 666 964 | 100.0 |
THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The total number of cases today (n= 14 312) is higher than yesterday (n= 13 672) and higher than the average number of new cases per day over the 7 preceding days (n= 12 077) 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 605 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 | 186 647 | 33 852 | 6 682 |
| Public | 409 | 208 301 | 50 547 | 7 118 |
| TOTAL | 664 | 394 948 | 84 399 | 13 800 |
VACCINE UPDATE
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.
Kind regards,
Sinenhlanhla Jimoh, Senior Communications Manager
National Institute for Communicable Diseases
