By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reports 13,347 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 1,954,466. This increase represents a 26.2 % positivity rate.
The Gauteng province accounts for the majority of new cases (67%), followed by the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces (7% each).
NICD said a further 226 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 60,264 to date.
A total of 50,932 tests were conducted in the last 24 hrs and 13,062,835 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors, added the institute.
Hospital Admissions:
An increase of 711 hospital admissions have been reported in the past 24 hours.
Vaccine Update:
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.
Meanwhile adjusted lockdown level 4 restrictions announced by president Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday evening could last much longer than the announced 14-day period, which will keep households and businesses under pressure, with little to no support from the government.
There was sufficient evidence in terms of rising case numbers and an escalation in excess deaths in the preceding weeks to have implemented the restrictions a lot earlier.
Various industry bodies and unions have called on the government to offer some form of financial support during the latest lockdown, which has seen restaurants, gyms, stores and even hotels and lodges shut down due to the restrictions on most of their revenue centres.
However, the government said there are no immediate plans to provide any support. Therein lies the biggest problem.
According to Ramaphosa, the level 4 lockdown will be in effect until 11 July, at which point the situation will be assessed and further pronouncements made.