By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize said in a statement that the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases identified in South Africa now stands at 1 596 595.
The number of tests conducted to date is 10 887 709. Of these 26 098 tests were conducted since the last report.
Mkhize said a further 11 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported: Eastern Cape 1, Free State 1, Gauteng 8, Kwa-Zulu Natal 1, Limpopo 0, Mpumalanga 0, North West 0, Northern Cape and Western Cape 0which brings the total to 54 735 deaths.
The cumulative recoveries now stand at 1 516 256, representing a recovery rate of ,95% added Mkhize.
Vaccination Rollout
The number of Health Care Workers Vaccinated under the Sisonke Protocol to date remains 382 480.
A Covid-19 variant, first detected in India and coded as B.1.617, has officially been found in South Africa.
On Sunday morning, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), explained in a statement that four cases of B.1.617.2 had been identified – two in Gauteng and two in KwaZulu-Natal.
“All cases have been isolated and managed according to Covid-19 case management guidelines and contact tracing has been performed in order to limit the spread of this variant, “the institute said.
Many South Africans have been anxious about the so-called ‘India variant’ as the outbreak on the sub-continent has raged out of control in recent weeks.
This is because the variant is more contagious than other variants currently circulating around the globe.
As a result, health systems are quickly overwhelmed, leading to oxygen supply shortages, overflowing hospitals, and eventually massive spikes in deaths, as experienced in India in recent weeks.
While the variant was first identified in October last year, India’s second wave started gaining momentum in March this year with infections reaching record numbers in April.
World Health Organisation (WHO) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told AFP “early signs were missed (in India) until it reached the point at which it was taking off vertically”, meaning “it’s multiplying at a rate at which it’s very difficult to stop”.
The massive outbreak in India has African scientists and leaders on edge as there are fears that the continent could also experience an uncontrollable outbreak.
At the same time, vaccine rollout on the continent has been significantly slower than in Western countries.