South Africa now has 516 862 COVID-19 cases, after 5 378 new infections were identified on Tuesday.
The number of new cases shows a slight decline since 23 June 2020 when the country recorded 4 523 new infections.
However, 173 more fatalities have been reported, pushing the death toll to 8 539 since the outbreak.
Of the new deaths, 45 are from Mpumalanga, 37 from Gauteng, 31 from the Western Cape, 28 from the North West, 20 from the Eastern Cape and 12 from KwaZulu-Natal.
“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased,” Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said.
Gauteng remains the epicentre of the pandemic in South Africa with 181 946 cases followed by the Western Cape with 97 076 infections.
KwaZulu-Natal is now the third-hardest hit province with 84 361 cases, the Eastern Cape becoming the province with the fourth-highest number of infections with 79 674 cases.
The Free State has 23 705 cases, North West 20 149, Mpumalanga 15 395, Limpopo 9 204 and Northern Cape 5 302.
Fifty cases are still unallocated.
Meanwhile, the recovery rate stands at 69% after 358 037 people have recovered from the virus.
Also, 3 058 695 have been tested of which 21 916 were done in the last 24 hours, the lowest number of tests since 2 June.
Globally, there are 17 918 582 cases and 686 703 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation. – SAnews.gov.za
