At least 2 357 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in South Africa in the last 24 hours, while 80 more additional deaths were recorded.
This means as of 18 May 2021, cumulative confirmed cases were reported as 1 617 840 and 55 340 deaths.
According to Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, of the newly recorded fatalities, 32 are from Gauteng and 22 from Free State.
“Free State and Gauteng provinces have been back-capturing deaths over April and May as part of their auditing processes,” Mkhize explained.
In addition, both the Eastern Cape and Limpopo each recorded six deaths, while five are from KwaZulu-Natal.
“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased patients,” the Minister added.
Mkhize announced that 479 768 healthcare workers have been immunised under the Sisonke Study, while the total number of those vaccinated in phase two to date is 39 371.
“These vaccinations were with the first dose of [the] Pfizer vaccine,” Mkhize said.
According to the latest data, the recovery rate is sitting at 94.4% after 1 527 968 patients recuperated.
The Minister announced there are now 34 532 active cases, of which 8 155 are found in Gauteng, 6 209 in the Northern Cape, and 5 964 in the Free State.
In addition, 5 096 active cases are in North West, 4 703 in KwaZulu-Natal, 2 630 in the Western Cape, 1 047 in Mpumalanga, 372 in the Eastern Cape and 356 in Limpopo.
Global view
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there have been 163 312 429 confirmed COVID-19 global cases, with 3 386 825 deaths, since the outbreak.
Globally, the number of new cases and deaths continued to decrease in the past week.
According to the WHO, there are over 4.8 million new infections and under 86 000 additional deaths reported, which is a 12% and 5% decrease respectively compared to the previous week.
“Despite a declining trend over the past three weeks, the incidence of cases remains at some of the highest levels since the start of the pandemic.”
The agency said all regions reported a decline in new cases this week apart from the Western Pacific region, where the incidence of new cases was similar to the previous week.
“The European region reported the largest decline in new cases this week, followed by the Eastern Mediterranean. These regions also reported the largest decline in new deaths over the past week.”
Meanwhile, South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions reported a similar number of new deaths as the previous week.
The highest numbers of new cases were reported from India (2 387 663 new cases, 13% decrease), Brazil (437 076 new cases, 3% increase), the United States (235 638 new cases, 21% decrease), Argentina (151 332 new cases, 8% increase), and Colombia (115 834 new cases, 6% increase).
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