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South African Covid-19 Infections Rise to Third-Wave High

(Bloomberg) --South Africa’s daily Covid-19 infections rose to 17,493, the highest number recorded in the country’s third resurgence of the virus.
Bloomberg
By Bloomberg
24 Jun
0
Vaccination Registrations in South Africa's Platinum DistrictElderly residents wait in line to register for the Covid-19 vaccination program outside the Bonang Community Health Centre, in Brits, South Africa, on Friday, April 30, 2021. South Africa plans to buy Russia's Sputnik V vaccines and shots developed by China's Sinopharm Group Co. Ltd as it steps up efforts to tackle the coronavirus. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg

By Antony Sguazzin
Jun 23, 2021, 8:37 PM - Updated on Jun 24, 2021, 7:06 AM
Word Count: 175

The number of infections, announced by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases on Wednesday, is the highest since Jan. 14. Of those tested 24.9% were positive for Covid-19 and 62% of the new infections were in the commercial hub of Gauteng, the NICD said.

The number excess deaths, thought to be a more accurate representation of mortality from Covid-19 than official statistics, in the week to Jun. 13 was also the highest since the last week of January, according to a separate report released on Wednesday by the South African Medical Research Council. While 3,124 deaths more than would normally be expected occurred in that week, 884 were officially attributed to the coronavirus, the SAMRC said.

With 1.86 million people infected and more than 59,000 dead, South Africa has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus infections and deaths on the continent. Still, the SAMRC puts excess deaths at more than 173,000 since the outbreak began.

(Updates with information on total infections and deaths in last paragraph)
© 2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Information pertaining to Covid-19, vaccines, how to control the spread of the virus and potential treatments is ever-changing. Under the South African Disaster Management Act Regulation 11(5)(c) it is prohibited to publish information through any medium with the intention to deceive people on government measures to address COVID-19. We are therefore disabling the comment section on this article in order to protect both the commenting member and ourselves from potential liability. Should you have additional information that you think we should know, please email letters@dailymaverick.co.za

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