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By IOL Reporter 
3h ago
Johannesburg – Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced more than 11,761 new infections and 575 more deaths related to Covid-19 on Wednesday night.
This brings South Africa’s Covid-19 infections to more than 1.3 million infections since March, and the death toll now stands at 40,076 virus-related deaths.
The number of recoveries in the country stands at more than 1.2 million recoveries, which means that there is currently a recovery rate of around 86%.
Mkhize said they have now screened more than 7.8 million people in the public and private sectors, with more than 62,000 tests conducted in the last 24 hours.
The Eastern Cape province has the highest number of deaths, with 9,984, followed by the Western Cape with 9,668, Gauteng, with 7,396, and KZN, with 7,177, has the highest number of deaths in the country.
Of the latest deaths, Mkhize said the majority of those killed came from Gauteng, KZN, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.
Gauteng – 166 kills
Eastern Cape – 129
KZN – 133
Western Cape – 77
Free State – 37
Mpumalanga – 18
North Cape – 15
VACCINE UPDATE
Providing an update on efforts to secure a vaccine, he said that the Health Products Regulatory Authority of South Africa had granted the necessary approvals for the Vaccine from the Serum Institute of India.
“In the next few days, we engaged with the public to give an update on the progress of the first batch of vaccines that we committed would be received in the first quarter.
“At this stage, we would like to assure South Africans that everything is on the right track. We are working closely with all relevant stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation of the vaccine implementation program.
“We also want to alert the public that in recent days we have been inundated with offers from private agents that sell vaccines. As a department, we have resolved and wish to inform the public that it is critical that the authenticity of any such agent and vaccine is verified directly with the manufacturers.
“This is the only way, in our opinion, to guarantee the quality of the vaccines that can be acquired through third parties. Fortunately, as a government, we have direct communication access with manufacturers. For the protection of our citizens, we have implemented a process to verify vaccines that are offered through third parties, ”he said.
DECREASE
Mkhize said the country had seen a decrease in transmission, with the positivity rate now at 19% from a peak of 36% during the second wave, but cautioned that transmission levels were still high. This has also contributed to fewer hospital admissions, he said.
“We hope this decline in numbers will bring much needed respite to our overwhelmed healthcare facilities, both in the public and private sectors.
“We are closely monitoring this to inform our process of recommending the review of some of the restrictions currently in place.
“We are very grateful to all South Africans for playing their role in mitigating the devastating effects of Covid-19. However, we continue to warn that the transmission rate remains very high and we must ensure that it is reduced to an acceptable level before we can ease the restrictions, “he said.
Mkhize asked the public to continue to adhere to the Covid-19 protocols of mask use, frequent hand and surface disinfection, and maintain social distance.
“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the deceased and we thank the healthcare workers who treated these patients,” Mkhize said.
MESS
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