POLITICS

Fifth wave on downward slope - NICD

Apparent peak was lower than any of the four previous ones

LATEST CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19 IN SOUTH AFRICA (27 MAY 2022)

27 May 2022

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 3 274 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3 948 119. This increase represents an 13.8% positivity rate.

Due to the ongoing audit exercise by the National Department of Health (NDoH), there may be a backlog of COVID-19 mortality cases reported. Today, the NDoH reports 36 deaths, and of these, 15 occurred in the past 24 – 48 hours. This brings the total fatalities to 101,128 to date.

25 187 804 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

Sector

Total tested

New tested

Private

13,737,534

54.5%

12,823

54.2%

Public

11,450,270

45.5%

10,843

45.8%

Total

         25,187,804

100.0%

23,666

100.0%

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN

The majority of new cases today are from Gauteng (33%) followed by Western Cape (26%). KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 13%; Eastern Cape accounted for 8%; Free State accounted for 6%; Northern Cape accounted for 5%; North West accounted for 4%; Mpumalanga accounted for 3%; and Limpopo accounted for 2% of today’s cases. The cumulative number of cases by province are shown in the table below:

Province

Total cases for 26 May 2022

Adjusted numbers after harmonisation

Updated total cases on 26 May 2022

Incident infections for 27 May 2022

Possible reinfections for 27 May 2022

New cases on 27 May 2022

Total cases for 27 May 2022

Percentage total

Eastern Cape

359311

0

359311

219

40

259

359570

9.1

Free State

213037

0

213037

152

33

185

213222

5.4

Gauteng

1303940

0

1303940

915

171

1086

1305026

33.1

KwaZulu-Natal

708888

0

708888

365

70

435

709323

18.0

Limpopo

158134

0

158134

43

7

50

158184

4.0

Mpumalanga

199418

0

199418

96

17

113

199531

5.1

North West

199307

0

199307

132

13

145

199452

5.1

Northern Cape

113497

0

113497

133

19

152

113649

2.9

Western Cape

689313

0

689313

714

135

849

690162

17.5

Total

3944845

0

3944845

2769

505

3274

3948119

100.0

THE 7-DAY MOVING AVERAGE NUMBER OF NEW CASES BY PROVINCE

The proportion of positive new cases/total new tested today is (13.8%), and is lower than yesterday (14.9%). The 7-day average is (16.1%) today, and is lower than yesterday (16.9%). The 7-day moving average daily number of cases has decreased.

For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
There has been an increase of 86 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours. The following table is a summary of reported COVID-19 admissions by sector.

Sector

Facilities Reporting

Admissions
to Date

Died to Date

Currently Admitted

Private

262

245514

40193

1483

Public

408

286232

62810

1698

TOTAL

670

531746

103003

3181

VACCINE UPDATE
For updates on the national vaccine programme, click here.

Thank you for your interest and remember that adhering to the following preventative measures helps to limit your risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19.

  • Getting vaccinated for COVID-19
  • Wearing your mask properly to cover your nose
  • Opting to gather in ventilated spaces
  • Avoid unnecessary gatherings
  • Keeping a social distance of one meter or more
  • Washing your hands regularly in the day with soap and water

For more information on COVID-19, click here.

Statement issued by the NICD, 27 May 2022