LATEST CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19 IN SOUTH AFRICA (20 February 2022)

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 1,456 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3,658,547. This increase represents a 7.2% positivity rate.

Due to the ongoing audit exercise by the National Department of Health (NDoH), there may be a backlog of COVID-19 mortality cases reported. Today, the NDoH reports 50 deaths and of these, 1 occurred in the past 24 – 48 hours. This brings the total fatalities to 98,667 to date.

22,880,879 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

SectorTotal testedNew tested
Private12,411,01454.2%13,25465.3%
Public10,469,86545.8%7,03434.7%
Total22,880,879100.0%20,288100.0%

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from Gauteng (39%), followed by Western Cape (20%). Kwa-Zulu Natal accounted for 12%; North West accounted for 9%; Mpumalanga accounted for 7%; Free State accounted for 5%; Eastern Cape and Limpopo each accounted for 3% respectively; and Northern Cape accounted for 2% of today’s new cases. The cumulative number of cases by province are shown in the table below:

ProvinceTotal cases for 19 Feb 2022Adjusted numbers after harmonisationUpdated total cases on 19 Feb 2022New cases on 20 Feb 2022Total cases for

20 Feb 2022

Percentage total
Eastern Cape342,8240342,82449342,8739.4
Free State199,8000199,80078199,8785.5
Gauteng1,186,51701,186,5175621,187,07932.4
KwaZulu-Natal649,4790649,479170649,64917.8
Limpopo154,1180154,11838154,1564.2
Mpumalanga190,0140190,014102190,1165.2
North West189,7120189,712137189,8495.2
Northern Cape108,0280108,02835108,0633.0
Western Cape636,5990636,599285636,88417.4
Total3,657,09103,657,0911,4563,658,547100.0

THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is 7.2%, which is lower than yesterday (7.5%). The 7-day average is 8.0% today, which is lower than yesterday (8.1%).

For detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 17 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
Private259228,75939,0811,486
Public407275,67161,9111,770
TOTAL666504,430100,9923,256

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.

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