Health minister Dr Zwelini Mkhize has confirmed that South Africa now has a cumulative number of 1 437 798 Covid cases.
This is an increase of 7 150 new cases recorded in the country and the cumulative total of tests conducted to date is 8 156 239 with 48 406 new tests conducted since the last report.
Mkhize said 555 more COVID-19 related deaths have been reported: Eastern Cape 150, Free State 10, Gauteng 70 , Kwa-Zulu Natal 249, Limpopo 7, Mpumalanga 21, Northern Cape 3 and Western Cape 45. This brings the total to 43 105 deaths.
The minister added the recoveries now stand at 1 272 197, representing a recovery rate of 88,3%.
Meanwhile Health officials in the US state of South Carolina announced on Thursday that the new South Africa variant of the coronavirus has been detected in two people in the United States.
These are the first known cases of the more infectious South Africa variant in the US.
Officials said there was no known travel history and no connection between the two cases, both in adults. Authorities did not release additional information for privacy reasons, however, the two cases suggest the South Africa strain is already spreading within local communities.
“The arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 variant in our state is an important reminder to all South Carolinians that the fight against this deadly virus is far from over,” said Dr Brannon Traxler, public health director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
The South Africa strain was first identified in December and appears to be spread more rapidly. It carries mutations that allow it to bind more easily to human cells. There’s no data yet suggesting the South Africa strain is more deadly.
The South Africa variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 is one of three mutations that have emerged recently, causing concern among public health authorities worldwide.
“At this time, we have no evidence that infections by this variant cause more severe disease. Like the UK and Brazilian variants, preliminary data suggests this variant may spread more easily and quickly than other variants,” the CDC said in a statement on Thursday.
A mutation of the virus discovered in the United Kingdom last year appears to be both more infectious and deadlier, according to authorities. A third variant discovered in Brazil also appears more infectious.
The UK variant has been discovered in more than 20 US states and could become the dominant strain in the US by the end of March, top US scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health have said.
Scientists are beginning to assess how existing vaccines affect the new strains of the virus.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, said in a US television interview on Sunday it is unclear whether the vaccines now being distributed will be more or less effective against new strains.
More than 430,000 people have died in the US from COVID-19 since the pandemic started and the new Biden administration has estimated the death toll will reach 500,000 by the end of February.
Compiled by Lehlohonolo Lehana.