South Africa has picked up 2 355 new infections of Covid-19 in a single day, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday evening 19 May 2021.

The recovery rate has dropped slightly from 94.5% to a mere 94.4% over the last 24-hour period. The number of people who have managed to beat the respiratory disease has increased to 1 527 968.

All this as the country faces a third wave of COVID-19 infections, particularly in the wake of both the India and UK variant of the respiratory disease, having been detected.

On another grim note, Covid-19 continues claiming more lives, with an additional 80 people having been reported dead over the past 24-hour cycle – this puts the toll to 55 340. Of the new fatalities, 32 were in Gauteng, 22 were in the Free State, nine were in the Western Cape, six were in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, and five were in KwaZulu-Natal.

No deaths were reported in Mpumalanga, the North West, or the Northern Cape in the past 24 hours.

It is yet to be declared whether South Africa as a country is in the third wave of infections, but in the meantime, the number of cases is rising and many are pinning their hopes on a vaccine. 

Globally, 164 million cases have been recorded – nearly 144 million of which have led to recoveries – while 3.4 million people have died.

Read the complete report: https://www.nicd.ac.za/latest-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-south-africa-18-may-2021/

The South African/OFM News