Gauteng is recording thousands of new infections daily. Professor Adrian Puren, from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, spoke with eNCA's Shahan Ramkissoon. Courtesy of #DStv403
JOHANNESBURG - The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has reported 13,147 new COVID-19 cases in South Africa, which brings the total number of confirmed cases to 3,051,222.
This represents a 24.9 percent positivity rate.
READ: SAMA: Get tested for COVID-19, even if you think it's flu
A further 27 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 90,002 to date.
Gauteng continues to record the highest number of new infections in the country.
Over 1,600 people are hospitalised in the province due to COVID-19.
The NICD has been monitoring the infection rate and the Omicron variant.
Professor Adrian Puren says it’s important to look at whether those hospitalised are vaccinated or not.
"It’s always of concern that we’re seeing an increase in the numbers. What is important here is who is being hospitalised. That’s a critical piece of information," Puren said.
"If you remain unvaccinated those are the people we need to target to be vaccinated. If it’s the vaccinated then that tells you that Omicron may well be causing severe disease. Those are the questions we need to answer when we look at those 1,600 cases.”
#COVID19 UPDATE: A total of 52,890 tests were conducted in the last 24hrs, with 13,147 new cases, which represents a 24.9% positivity rate. A further 27 #COVID19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 90,002 to date. See more here: https://t.co/fMvLuHRF7X pic.twitter.com/Z3Si9LkUFp
— NICD (@nicd_sa) December 7, 2021
