By XINHUA
Cases of the coronavirus in South Africa continued surging as 13,246 new cases were registered over the past 24 hours, the highest number since January this year, said the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Wednesday night.
NICD, a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, said the percent testing positive increased to 21.7 percent nationally. Gauteng was again at the forefront of the growing number of cases, with 7,859 of the infections recorded there. The total number of laboratory-confirmed cases nationwide increased to 1,774,312.
The NICD also reported 77 in-hospital deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities to 58,118.
The institute said it was concerned about the rising cases and urged the public to be cautious.
“Citizens should remain vigilant in following COVID-19 preventative measures by wearing a mask that covers both the nose and mouth, practicing healthy hand hygiene,” it said.
The latest figures came after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared tighter lockdown measures due to increasing daily cases. Gatherings have been reduced to 50 indoors while a curfew was also imposed.
