Covid-19 Positivity Rate Remains Concerning In Some Provinces

Minister of Health, Dr Joseph Phaala has expressed his concern over the Western Cape and the Northern Cape recording Covid-19 positivity rates above the national average.
These percentages represent the number of positive Covid-19 cases recorded by a province out of the number of tests conducted on any given day. The current national average positivity rate sits at around 19%. As of Thursday, the Western Cape recorded a positivity rate of 27% while the Northern Cape recorded a positivity rate of 30%.
Dr Phaala says “What is worrying is that in both provinces, there have been more younger people between the ages of 10 and 19, who have been testing positive. While some cluster [outbreaks] can be attributed to the opening of schools, there have also been indications that social activities have also had a role to play, such as young people engaging in parties without any precautions,”.
He also noted that the third wave is going on for longer than what was expected and described it as unpredictable. “it's taking longer than the first wave and the second wave which went up to the peak nationally and then started going down quite steeply, but the third wave is dragging at a high level sometimes it looks as if there's going to be a steep downwards and then it rises again” explained Phaala.
The minister said the absence of any new variants of the Covid-19 virus in South Africans led the Department of Health to believe it is due to non-compliance with Covid-19 protocols. Phaala says that this could lead to the country experiencing a fourth wave of infections.
Dr Phaala has also given an update on the number of people between the ages of 18-34 getting vaccinated. The number of doses is as follows.
20 August 2021 - 81 000 doses administered 23 August 2021 - 93 000 doses administered24 August 2021 - 99 000 doses administered25 August 2021 - 98 000 doses administered 26 August 2021 - 89 000 doses administered