SA unrest disrupts vaccination program
Shireen Darmalingam
Vaccine update:
- Globally, over 3.62 billion vaccines have been administered across 180 countries at a rate of 32.4 million doses a day.
- Locally, 5.095 million vaccines have been administered to date. The looting has led to severe disruptions in the vaccination program, with vaccines all but halted in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng.
- Vaccination efforts prior to the unrest had been targeting 300,000 vaccines a day; the unrest has led to just over half of this number given on Wednesday (153,557).
Global cases update:
- Cases have surpassed 191.22 million, while the death toll has surpassed 4.1 million; recoveries are at 174.18 million.
- The US has 34.96 million cases, accounting for 18% of global cases; the US death toll is 624,746.
- India has 31.14 million cases and 414,141 deaths; Brazil has 19.37 million cases and 542,262 deaths.
- US hospital admissions rose 33.7% in the week ending 16 July, compared with the previous seven days.
- Pandemic restrictions are ending in England today even though infections have been soaring.
- The Australian state of Victoria extended its lockdown today as authorities battle an outbreak.
- Sydney has been in a 5-week lockdown after the Delta variant triggered the country’s worst outbreak this year.
- Singapore reported the highest number of new cases in 11 months as infections surge.
- Thailand reported 11,784 new infections today, the highest single-day increase since the pandemic began.
Africa cases update:
- Africa’s Covid-19 cases are at 6.28 million; fatalities are at 158,329.
- Morocco has 557,632 reported cases, Nigeria 169,532, Ghana 98,817, Kenya 192,758.
- The WHO has noted that deaths on the continent have climbed steeply for the past five weeks.
- The WHO reads this as a warning sign that hospitals in the most affected countries are reaching a breaking point.
- Health systems in these countries are facing dire shortages of the requisite healthcare workers, supplies, equipment and infrastructure.
South Africa cases update:
- SA currently has the 17th highest caseload, at 2.295 million; 11,215 new cases were reported yesterday.
- Active cases are at 178,072; Gauteng continues to lead the way, with 59,129 active cases, followed by the Western Cape with 31,997.
- The majority of new cases yesterday were from Gauteng (39%), followed by Western Cape (19%). Limpopo and Mpumalanga each accounted for 9%; KwaZulu-Natal and North West each accounted for 7%.
- Covid-19 deaths rose by 183 yesterday, to 66,859; 2.05 million people (or 89.3%) have recovered from the virus.
- 14.24 million tests have been conducted since 5 March 2020; 38,287 tests were conducted yesterday.
- The positivity rate is 29.3% down from last week’s high of 31,4%.
- The NICD noted that the percentage testing positive in week 27 was highest in Limpopo at 51.5%, Gauteng at 39.1%, the north west 39.1% and Mpumalanga at 38%.
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