South Africa has recorded 4 525 new Covid-19 cases and 213 deaths, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Sunday.
“As of today the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases identified on South Africa is 1,453 761 with 4,525 new cases identified since the last report.”
Mkhize said a further 213 more Covid-19 related deaths have been reported, with 95 deaths in the Eastern Cape, 8 in the Free State, 58 in Gauteng, 23 in KwaZulu-Natal, 17 in Mpumalanga, 4 in the Northern Cape and 8 in the Western Cape. This brings the total to 44 164 deaths.
Recoveries now stand at 1 299 620, representing a recovery rate of 89%.
The cumulative total of tests conducted to date is 8 279 200 with 34 076 new tests recorded since the last report.
Meanwhile at least two revellers who attended the Matric Rage in Ballito late last year had tested positive for the coronavirus before the event.
The NICD said it received an alert on the weekend of December 5-6 from a clinician from Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal, about a number of Covid-19 cases among young people who had attended the Rage Festival in Ballito at end-November into early December.
The institute conducted a retrospective cohort investigation of 2,253 festival attendees (1,954 revellers and 299 crew).
A total of 848 (37.6%) laboratory confirmed Covid-19 cases were identified, of which 846 (99.8%) were revellers and two were crew (0.2%).
Most cases were from Gauteng (66.2%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (30%).
“Two confirmed cases identified among the Rage attendees (both revellers), were before the Rage with specimen collection date on November 17 and 19 2020,” the NICD disclosed.
Rage is an annual SA electronic music festival held to coincide with the end of the SA final matric exam season. The official Rage took place on November 28 to December 4 at various venues (three outdoor events at Kings Park Stadium and a small pop-up bar at Rage Bar Ballito).
Compiled by Lehlohonolo Lehana.