By Lehlohonolo Lehana.

The cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases in South Africa is 3,976,653 with 1,592 new cases identified.

This represents a 7.6% positivity rate, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed.

20 Covid-19 related deaths were reported – 8 of which occurred in the past 24 – 48 hours – bringing the total number of deaths to 101,468.

There were 71 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours.

The total number of recoveries stands at 3,851,856 with a recovery rate of 96.9%. South Africa currently has 23,329 active cases.

South Africa's recovery from the devastating economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic remains on track with government focused on implementing the economic reconstruction and recovery plan.

This is according to President Cyril Ramaphosa who addressed Parliament on Thursday during the response to the Presidency’s Budget Vote.

"Our economic recovery is gathering pace. The health recovery from the pandemic is proceeding. We are steadily rebuilding the capacity of the state.

"The recovery that was promised is slowly coming to pass. Factories are back in full production and new ones are being opened. Small businesses and local economies are being revitalised, and jobs are being created. Domestic and international investment is picking up. Public-private partnerships are being forged to close developmental lags and to grow the economy.

"As the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services told this House [on Thursday], our law enforcement agencies are clawing back on malfeasance and corruption and are doing so without fear, favour, or prejudice," he said.

The President reflected that although South Africa still faces challenges, the country’s resilience still remains intact.

"Despite our many challenges, we are some way off from the South Africa we were a year, two or even three years ago. When COVID-19 struck in early 2020, there were many who believed we would collapse under the heavy weight of this burden.

"And yet we pulled through, having been able to mitigate the health impact and provide social support to the most vulnerable," he said.

Ramaphosa called on Members of Parliament and society to pull together in order to forge ahead with government’s economic reconstruction and recovery plan.

"So today we again must prove the naysayers wrong as we confront the economic and social challenges of the day. We can only do so if we work together and not against each other, "Ramaphosa said.