SA records close to 1 700 new COVID-19 cases, 87 deaths

THERE were 1 691 new COVID-19 cases detected in South Africa, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported on Monday.

Meanwhile, 87 people succumbed to the respiratory disease, of which 25 occurred in the past 24 to 48 hours.

This means the country is now home to 3 560 921 laboratory-confirmed infections since the outbreak, while the death toll stands at 93 451.

Of the latest infections reported, Gauteng was the hardest-hit after 456 people tested positive in the province, followed by 316 in the Western Cape, 285 in KwaZulu-Natal, 185 in Mpumalanga, 119 in Limpopo and 110 in the North West.

According to the NICD, hospital admissions increased by 114 in the past 24 hours.

In addition, the Department of Health distributed 86 119 vaccine doses, bringing the number of jabs to 28 993 654 of which 1 086 295 were given to children since the rollout programme.