As of Wednesday, 31 March 2021, the cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases is 1,548,157, with 1422 new cases identified, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has confirmed.
58 more Covid-19 related deaths were reported, with 0 from Eastern Cape, 1 from Free State, 23 from Gauteng, 23 from KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), 0 from Limpopo, 0 from Mpumalanga, 0 from North West, 2 from Northern Cape and 9 from Western Cape.
This brings the total number of Covid-19 related deaths to 52,846.
Recoveries now stand at 1,474,319, representing a recovery rate of 95%.
A total of 9,879,348 tests have been completed with 34,513 new tests conducted since the last report.
Meanwhile, the total number of vaccines that have been administered stands at 263,878.
#COVID19 UPDATE: A total of 34 513 tests were conducted in the last 24 hrs, with 1 422 new cases, which represents a 4% positivity rate. A further 58 #COVID19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 52 846 to date. Read more here: https://t.co/P40xSitXMx pic.twitter.com/OF5GKORKz5
— NICD (@nicd_sa) March 31, 2021
Vaccine rollout
While there have been delays in securing Covid-19 vaccine supplies for South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday evening said government was still confident it would achieve its vaccination targets.
“The demand for vaccines around the world has become extremely competitive but we are doing our best to secure enough supply for the people of South Africa and the African continent. We have had to adapt to the changing nature of the virus and to emerging evidence about the effectiveness of different vaccines.
“We will ensure that we have sufficient doses of effective vaccines to reach population immunity in the shortest possible time,” Ramaphosa said.
The president was speaking during a televised address to the nation on the country’s Covid-19 response ahead of the Easter long weekend.
Additional reporting by Thapelo Lekabe