By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reports 17,958 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 1,913,861. This increase represents a 25.6 % positivity rate.
The Gauteng province accounts for the majority of new cases (63%), followed by the Western Cape (10 %),with 12 912 828 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors,said NICD.
NICD said a further 157 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 59 778 to date.
Hospital Admissions:
An increase of 449 hospital admissions have been reported in the past 24 hours.
Vaccine Update:
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.
Meanwhile President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation on Sunday, 27 June, after meeting with the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) in a special briefing.
Government spokesperson Phumla Williams said that the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure will meet today (26 June) to discuss the surging number of Covid-19 infections in the country, with the NCCC and presidential coordinating council to meet after.
A special cabinet meeting will take place to process the recommendations from the meetings, she said.
The special meetings are being held sooner than expected, with Williams initially confirming on Friday that the NCCC was only expected to meet on Tuesday, 29 June. However, a more rapid response has been urged by health experts and other officials, following a rapid rise in Covid-19 cases in the country.
The health department on Saturday confirmed that the highly infectious Delta variant of Covid-19, first discovered in India, is likely behind the surge.
The Delta variant has been found to be highly transmissible due to several mutations in the virus. It has spread extremely quickly since its discovery and has now entered 85 countries.
Director of the Kwazulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), professor Tulio de Oliviera said that not only is the Delta variant spreading rapidly in the country, it is also becoming the dominant variant locally.
In the same briefing, professor Koleka Mlisana, co-chairperson of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Covid-19, said that tighter restrictions are needed to combat the new variant.
She said that the Delta variant introduces new challenges and variables to South Africa’s prevention strategies – in particular, the Delta variant is highly transmissible and spreads through interaction, so the government will need to put tighter restrictions on gatherings.
Acting health minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said there is a belief among officials that the current level of restrictions is not adequate to face the severity of the challenges presented by the Delta variant.