While South Africa may be on the other side of the Covid-19 third wave peak, recent data suggests that the rate of decline has slowed due to coastal provinces recording an increase in cases.
Senior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Dr Ridhwaan Suliman says inland provinces are contributing to the decrease in Covid-19 cases, however, coastal provinces are still on an upward trend.
Speaking to the SABC on Sunday he said the Western Cape is currently the epicenter of the third wave in the country and is reporting over 3 100 cases on average over the past week.
“In KwaZulu-Natal, new cases have increased by 28% week-on-week and there are certainly no signs of slowing down there. I think that is something to watch for for the next couple of weeks,” he said.
Cases in the Eastern Cape have also shown an increase, he said, with the province recording a 14% increase week-on-week.
“The good news is that Gauteng, the Northwest, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo continue on their downward trends,” said Suliman.
Nationally, the country’s 7-day moving average is still high at 21% and has been “stuck” at this level for the past four days, with the third wave having a longer tail.
South Africa recorded 6 787 new Covid-19 cases on Monday with 29% of the cases from the Western Cape, 21% from KwaZulu-Natal, and 15% from Gauteng.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), there was a 10% decrease in the number of new cases detected last week compared to the previous week.
The current decline in #COVID19 test positivity rate across South Africa 🇿🇦 has also slowed 🐌
— Ridhwaan Suliman (@rid1tweets) August 9, 2021
The 7-day avg still high at 21.7% and 'stuck' at this level for past four days, with this #3rdWave having a longer tail... Hoping it will continue its decline soon!#Rid1TweetsOnCovid pic.twitter.com/cEvnKRNYcs