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By IOL Reporter 
1 hour ago
Confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa have risen to 921,922, an increase of 9,445 cases in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Sunday. 152 more deaths have been reported from the coronavirus.
As of Sunday, the death toll from the virus is 24,691.
The massive increase in infections in recent days is believed to be due to a new variant of Covid-19 that researchers believe is driving the second wave.
Over the past 24 hours, the number of active cases in the Western Cape increased by 2,090, while active cases in the Eastern Cape decreased by 2,218.
The Western Cape Health Department said on Sunday that hospitals in the province are under great pressure as a result of a sharp increase in the number of severe Covid-19 patients requiring hospitalization.
An increase in the number of trauma cases as the holiday season accelerates is compounding the problem.
Tests
A cumulative total of 6,140,839 tests have been completed with 40,466 new tests performed since the last report, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said.
Deaths and recoveries
Of the 152 deaths reported on Sunday, 105 were from the Eastern Cape, 30 from the Western Cape, 8 from KwaZulu-Natal, 5 from the Free State, 3 from Mpumalanga and 1 from Gauteng.
The number of people who have recovered from the virus now stands at 793,914.
Meanwhile, Israel has closed its borders to arrivals from South Africa, Britain and Denmark. The three countries where the new variant of Covid-19 has been identified.
Germany has also indicated that it can ban arrivals from South Africa.
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