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 16,240 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2,327,472. This increase represents a 27.5% positivity rate. As per the National Department of Health, a further 516 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 68,192 to date.
14,369,234 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
| Sector | Total tested | New tested | ||
| Private | 8,045,933 | 56% | 30,841 | 52% |
| Public | 6,323,301 | 44% | 28,227 | 48% |
| Total | 14,369,234 | 59,068 | ||
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from Gauteng (32%), followed by the Western Cape (21%). KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 11%; Limpopo and North West each accounted for 9%; Mpumalanga accounted for 7%; Eastern Cape accounted for 5%; Free State accounted for 3%; and the Northern Cape 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 20 July 2021 | Adjusted numbers after harmonisation | Updated total cases on 20 July 2021 | New cases on 21 July 2021 | Total cases for 21 July 2021 | Percentage total |
| Eastern Cape | 219,696 | 0 | 219,696 | 872 | 220,568 | 9.5 |
| Free State | 123,795 | -2 | 123,793 | 545 | 124,338 | 5.3 |
| Gauteng | 822,159 | 15 | 822,174 | 5,219 | 827,393 | 35.5 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 377,395 | 0 | 377,395 | 1,803 | 379,198 | 16.3 |
| Limpopo | 102,987 | 20 | 103,007 | 1,388 | 104,395 | 4.5 |
| Mpumalanga | 115,180 | 6 | 115,186 | 1,128 | 116,314 | 5.0 |
| North West | 118,772 | -41 | 118,731 | 1,477 | 120,208 | 5.2 |
| Northern Cape | 63,725 | -1 | 63,724 | 337 | 64,061 | 2.8 |
| Western Cape | 367,523 | 3 | 367,526 | 3,471 | 370,997 | 15.9 |
| Unknown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Total | 2,311,232 | 0 | 2,311,232 | 16,240 | 2,327,472 | 100.0 |
THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE
The total number of cases today (n= 16 240) is higher than yesterday (n= 8 929) and higher than the average number of new cases per day over the 7 preceding days (n= 12 953).
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 831 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 | 257 | 166,979 | 29,065 | 9,610 |
| Public | 410 | 180,174 | 42,781 | 7,676 |
| TOTAL | 667 | 347,153 | 71,846 | 17,286 |
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
