POLITICS

868 new Covid-19 cases in SA – NICD

Institute says, as of today, retrospective antigen tests are being loaded to fill in gaps

Latest confirmed cases of Covid-19 in SA

23 November 2021

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, continues to provide laboratory-based surveillance to inform the public health response towards COVID-19 in South Africa.

Today the institute reports 868 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2,948,760. This increase represents a 2.1% positivity rate.  As per the National Department of Health, a further 51 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 89,635 to date.

19,244,585 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

Sector

Total tested

New tested

Private

10,327,920

53.7%

17,700

43.4%

Public

8,916,665

46.3%

23,091

56.6%

Total

19,244,585

 100.0%

40,791

 100.0%

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN

The cumulative number of cases by province is shown in the table below:

 Province

New cases on 23 Nov 2021

Total cases for 23 Nov 2021

Percentage total

Eastern Cape

26

293,047

9,9

Free State

21

165,349

5,6

Gauteng

605

931,717

31,6

KwaZulu-Natal

31

517,837

17,6

Limpopo

23

123,174

4,2

Mpumalanga

47

153,419

5,2

North West

43

153,551

5,2

Northern Cape

20

93,183

3,2

Western Cape

52

517,483

17,5

Total

868

2,948,760

100,0

INCLUSION OF ANTIGEN TESTING DATA

As of today, retrospective antigen tests are being loaded to fill in gaps that existed while antigen test providers put systems in place to report to the National Department of Health (NDoH). The NICD and NHLS optimised the systems to accurately reflect these reports. Please refer to the media statement that was released by the NDoH on 23 November 2021.

The increase in cumulative cases in today’s report is attributed to the retrospective addition of 18 586 antigen tests, that include the reporting of 868 positive cases recorded in the past 24 hours. The incorporation of antigen tests follows ongoing improvements to report as accurately as possible from all provinces and all testing facilities throughout South Africa. 19 244 585 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

See below an updated table with the breakdown of cases (new/retrospective) reported in red.

Province

Cumulative total cases as at 22 November 2021

Adjusted numbers after harmonisation

Updated total cases on 22 November 2021

New cases on 23 November 2021

Retrospective case data

Cumulative total cases as at 23 November 2021

Percentage total

Eastern Cape

292691

0

292691

26

330

293047

9.9

Free State

163999

0

163999

21

1329

165349

5.6

Gauteng

923618

0

923618

605

7494

931717

31.6

KwaZulu-Natal

516485

0

516485

31

1321

517837

17.6

Limpopo

122459

-1

122458

23

693

123174

4.2

Mpumalanga

152405

1

152406

47

966

153419

5.2

North West

151045

0

151045

43

2463

153551

5.2

Northern Cape

93003

0

93003

20

160

93183

3.2

Western Cape

514469

0

514469

52

2962

517483

17.5

Unknown

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.0

Total

2930174

0

2930174

868

17718

2948760

100.0

Furthermore, the retrospective inclusion of these positive cases into the surveillance data will have no impact on case management, as those in question were immediately informed of their positive test result. It is important to note that the identification of these additional data are not unusual as data harmonisation remains an ongoing process.

For more information on COVID-19, click here.

Issued by Sinenhlanhla Jimoh, Senior Communications Manager, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, 23 November 2021