Acting Minister of Health, Mmamoloko Kubayi says many provinces in the country are on red alert, as the spread of Covid-19 continues to increase.
Kubayi who was briefing the media on the progress of government efforts in the fight against Covid-19 this morning said according to the data all provinces will experience the same trend that’s been seen in Gauteng.
In the past 24 hours Gauteng recorded 12 806 new cases of Covid-19, which represents just under 60% of new infections, while the Western Cape’s 2 447 new cases represented an 11% share and the North West province’s 1468 new cases represented 7% of new infections.
#COVID19 UPDATE: A total of 76,071 tests were conducted in the last 24 hrs, with 21,584 new cases, which represents a 28.4% positivity rate. A further 382 #COVID19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 61,029 to date. Read more: https://t.co/AVoXCDbzqv pic.twitter.com/hl9rCtkkKu
— NICD (@nicd_sa) July 1, 2021
Kubayi said: “The trends are clearly showing that other provinces which are currently lagging are going to experience the same trend we are seeing in Gauteng. Most notably in the Western Cape and North West when we look at the latest numbers. What's worrying as well is the positivity rate in Limpopo which is almost 42%.”
“We are also paying attention to what’s happening in the Eastern Cape as well as in KwaZulu-Natal. Looking at the numbers of the spread of the virus, it tells us that many provinces are on red alert.”
Apart from Gauteng's spike in new cases, there were other concerns as the Western Cape recorded 2,447 cases in the past 24 hours. On top of this, four provinces recorded more than 1,000 cases — the North West reported 1,468 cases, KZN 1,241cases, and Limpopo 1,109 cases.
Also, the SA Medical Research Council released its report on weekly deaths, covering the period of June 20-26.
The report shows that there was a sharp increase in natural deaths in Gauteng the past few weeks, with more than 2,242 excess deaths from natural causes recorded in the week under review — figures that were comparable to the number experienced at the height of the first and second waves of the pandemic.
rudolph.nkgadima@africannewsagency.com