South Africa recorded 16,435 new coronavirus cases and 377 deaths overnight, bringing the cumulative total number of infections since March 2020 to 2,253,240, the health ministry said on Friday.
According to the ministry, the new cases represented a 29.9% positivity rate from 14,100,628 tests conducted in both the public and private sectors.
“Although the number of positive cases appears to be decreasing, testing is critical for understanding the spread of Covid-19 infections,” the ministry said.
Gauteng province recorded 7,309 new infections, followed by Western Cape (2,901), North West (1,515), Limpopo (1,434), Mpumalanga (1,078), Eastern Cape recorded 839, Free State (570), KwaZulu-Natal 490 and Northern Cape (299).
South Africa has lost 65,972 lives since March 2020 when the pandemic started in the country.
NM/jn/APA