SOUTH AFRICA – According to a statement by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), South Africa has officially exited its third wave of Covid-19 infections.
“Nationally, we have exited the third wave, according to the current definition. The national seven-day moving average of daily case numbers, positivity rate, and testing rate continue to decrease, with sustained decreases seen in all provinces,” the statement read.
According to statistics published by the NICD, the country recorded 2,896,943 laboratory-confirmed cases as of yesterday. There were 51 new Covid-19-related deaths, bringing the confirmed death toll to 87,052.
“The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD)… reports that 967 new Covid-19 cases have been identified in South Africa, representing a 5% positivity rate,” the NICD said.
According to the Department of Health, 16 827 790 vaccine doses have been administered. Of those 9 419 were administered in the last 24-hour cycle.
To date, 4 659 962 people are fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, while 3 731 658 have been vaccinated with the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
In other news, the African Union (AU) through the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) continues to lead the continent in the fight against the COVID19 pandemic.
Since its outbreak, the viral infection has affected economies and millions of families, leading to a change in the customary way of living life. Last week, the African continent had reported at least 8.1 million cases, accounting for 3.6 percent of the COVID-19 cases reported globally.
“The continent is still going through a severe third wave. 78 per cent of our member states are currently going through the third wave. And of these, 32 are experiencing a severe third wave. Seven countries, including Algeria, Benin, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Somalia, and Tunisia, are currently experiencing the fourth wave. Of that number, four of them are going through a fourth wave”, said the director of the Africa CDC, Dr. John Nkengasong.
However, the Africa CDC is encouraged by the recent downward trend in the number of coronavirus COVID-19 cases registered across the region.
According to the CDC, between the period of September 13-19, a total of 104,000 new cases were reported across the continent, representing a 22 percent decrease in the number of new cases reported during that period compared to the previous weeks.
“If you look at the four-week period between August 30 and September 19, we observed a 19 percent average decrease in new cases reported during this period. We continue to be encouraged by the progress we are seeing in several countries as they move towards full vaccination”, said Dr Nkengasong.
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