According to the latest update, a total of 8 539 deaths have been recorded in the country. There have been 358 037 recoveries.

So far, more than 3.05 million tests have been conducted, with 21 916 new tests reported.

The rate at which Covid-19 cases are increasing daily in the country has for the first time, since the beginning of the outbreak in March, started declining, according to official, reported data.

This is driven largely by significant declines in the number of cases being reported in Gauteng daily.

"While there are promising signs, now is not the time to let down our guard. We have to continue to work together to reduce the number of new infections," President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement over the weekend.

Gauteng, the smallest province geographically but the most densely populated, accounted for 35% of all confirmed coronavirus cases as of 1 August, when the reported number of cases breached half a million.

Since early July, the average daily case increases over seven days rose above 10 000 new cases a day, rising to a high of more than 12 000, and now declining again slightly, to just over 10 000.

News24