Gauteng accounts for nearly 80% of SA's 239 new Covid-19 cases as NICD warns of 'sustained increase' in cases

Gauteng accounted for nearly 80% of SA's new Covid-19 cases, the latest data from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases showed.

There were 312 new infections recorded across SA in the past 24 hours, the NICD said on Monday. Of these, 239 (77%) were in Gauteng. Only the Western Cape (16 cases), KwaZulu-Natal (15) and Mpumalanga (10) recorded new cases in double figures.

The NICD also reported that there were 10 new Covid-19 related deaths recorded in the past day.

This means that there have been 2,930,174 cases and 89,584 fatalities recorded across SA to date.

There were also 37 new hospitalisations in the past day, meaning that there are  2,715 people being treated for Covid-19 related complications in SA's hospitals.

Earlier on Monday, the NICD warned that there was a “sustained increase” in new infections.

There were particular concerns over the number of people testing positive in Gauteng — Tshwane especially — “among 10 to 29 year olds over the past week”.

“Additionally, the NICD has recently identified a cluster among the 20-44 age group at an institute of higher education in Tshwane.

“We are monitoring these trends to see if these increases persist. Localised increases in case numbers (clusters) are not unexpected, however, so it is hard to say whether the increases indicate the start of a widespread resurgence,” said NICD acting executive director Prof Adrian Puren.

Fortunately, said Puren, testing had not yet revealed any new variants of the virus. It was the Beta in the second wave and Delta in the third that largely drove infections.

According to the NICD, statistics showed that 41% of adults in SA had received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, with 35% fully vaccinated.

“It is difficult to predict the magnitude and timing of a potential Covid-19 resurgence, however, we implore the unvaccinated to get the Covid-19 vaccine, especially the elderly and those with comorbidities,” said the head of the division of public health surveillance and response, Dr Michelle Groome.

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