Today 17,493 new COVID-19 cases have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 1,861,065. This increase represents a 24.9% positivity rate.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, continues to monitor the COVID-19 outbreak in order to inform the public health response. Dr Michelle Groome, Head of the Division of Public Health Surveillance and Response, warns that “the sharp rise in the reported daily COVID-19 cases is cause for concern, especially in the Gauteng Province where daily case numbers are exceeding those seen during the previous two waves.” She adds, “Ultimately, it is up to each one of us to play our role to reduce the spread of the virus by limiting our interaction with others, as much as possible, during this time”.
A further 166 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 59 258 to date. Prof Adrian Puren, Acting Executive Director of the NICD stresses that, the anecdotes from family and friends are real, “It is critical to manage our risks and the risk to others, especially the elderly by limiting contact with others and avoiding gatherings with those who are not part of our safe bubble”.
For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.
12 703 421 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.
| Sector | Total tested | New tested | ||
| PRIVATE | 7,176,061 | 56% | 45,963 | 65% |
| PUBLIC | 5,527,360 | 44% | 24,223 | 35% |
| Total | 12,703,421 | 70,186 | ||
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
The majority of new cases today are from the Gauteng province (62%), followed by the Western Cape (10%). The cumulative number of cases by province is shown below:
| Province | New cases on 23 June 2021 | Total cases for 23 June 2021 | Percentage total |
| Eastern Cape | 637 | 203,709 | 10.9 |
| Free State | 491 | 111,401 | 6.0 |
| Gauteng | 10,806 | 578,488 | 31.1 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 917 | 348,604 | 18.7 |
| Limpopo | 724 | 70,821 | 3.8 |
| Mpumalanga | 825 | 90,094 | 4.8 |
| North West | 1,018 | 88,833 | 4.8 |
| Northern Cape | 297 | 57,467 | 3.1 |
| Western Cape | 1,778 | 311 648 | 16.7 |
| Unknown | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Total | 17,493 | 1,861,065 | 100.0 |
HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
An increase of 622 hospital admissions have been reported in the past 24 hours.
A summary of reported COVID-19 hospital admissions is shown below:
| Sector | Facilities Reporting | Admissions to Date | Died to Date | Currently Admitted |
| Private | 257 | 139,641 | 23,279 | 6879 |
| Public | 399 | 155,906 | 37,039 | 3618 |
| TOTAL | 656 | 295,547 | 60,318 | 10,497 |
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
sinenhlanhlaj@nicd.ac.za
National Institute for Communicable Diseases
