By Kaya 959 Reporter
The current surge in COVID-19 infections seems to be showing signs of a sustained downward trend.
That’s according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). On Tuesday, the NICD said 2 197 new cases were confirmed. It said the 7-day moving average daily number of cases has decreased.
The increase represents a 6.1% positivity rate compared to last week’s 8.4%.
As per the National Department of Health, a further 160 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 86,376 to date. 17,410,204 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors.
The number of new cases recorded on Tuesday were:
KwaZulu-Natal (27%)
Western Cape (17%)
Eastern Cape (15%)
Free State (14%)
Gauteng (12%)
Mpumalanga (6%)
Northern Cape (6%)
North West (4%)
Limpopo (1%)
ALSO READ: Anti-vaxxers face criminal charges for maskless protest
SA on level 2 alert
Two weeks ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the country’s downgrading to an adjusted alert level 2.
He said based on a decline of infections across all provinces, Cabinet in consultation with the National Coronavirus Command Council and various leadership, agreed to easing restrictions.
Experts are confident that should South Africa’s rate of new Covid infections decrease, it could see a move for further lower restrictions.
Audit and assurance experts, PwC expects a move to level 1 next month.
In its latest economic outlook report, PwC said the severity of the elongated mid-year wave and the accompanying strictness of associated lockdowns, is a key driver behind the nature of the economic recovery, alongside the impact of load shedding.
“All our scenarios take into account a likely fourth wave of infections – with varying severity, depending on the scenario – during the upcoming summer holidays.
ALSO READ: Tourism minister backs call for SA’s removal from UK Red List



