Government has projected that Gauteng will probably record the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths nationally.

The province is South Africa’s most populated. According to News24, it is now recording more Covid-19 cases daily, than at any point during the Western Cape’s outbreak. The Western Cape has been the most embattled province thus far, with 48% of the country’s Covid-19 cases having been recorded there. However, the highest increases in cases, in a single day, in any province, were reflected by Gauteng on Friday, June 26 (2,598 new cases), and Thursday, June 25 (2,590 news cases). According to News24, the Western Cape’s highest rise in cases in a single day was reported on June 4, with 2349 cases.

While Western Cape cases had doubled to a reported total 57 941 cases in 21 days, in Gauteng, cases doubled within 8 days, from a recorded 15,898 cases on June 18, to 31,344 cases recorded on June 26.

Meanwhile, the Gauteng Department of Health on Saturday said, “The current surge of Covid-19 cases we are experiencing in Gauteng is expected.” It added, “Increased movement and mobility of people is one of the contributing factors of the rise in number of confirmed Covid-19 cases.”

News24 reports that it’s not as yet known how changes in testing strategies have affected the number of cases detected and reported.

Umm Muhammed Umar