Author: Staff Writer

South Africa conducted 36 216 Coronavirus tests in the last 24 hours, of which 3 197 came back positive, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the country logged 132 deaths, with 23 occurring in the past 24 to 48 hours.

According to the NICD, Gauteng continues to record the highest number of daily infections after 898 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus.

Gauteng is followed by 483 infections in KwaZulu-Natal and 460 in the Western Cape, pushing the positivity rate to 8.8%.

This means the country now has 3 585 888 laboratory-confirmed cases since the outbreak, while the death toll is sitting at 94 397 to date.

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#COVID19 UPDATE: 36,216 tests were conducted in the last 24hrs, with 3,197 new cases, representing an 8.8% positivity rate. Today, @HealthZA reports 132 deaths, of which 23 occurred in the past 24-48 hours. Total fatalities are 94,397 to date. More here: https://t.co/mPiipjmHFD pic.twitter.com/GexMtu1Zwp

— NICD (@nicd_sa) January 25, 2022

Photo: Unsplash

President Cyril Ramaphosa has released the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) report into COVID-19 procurement to the public this morning.

The report is a culmination of an 18-month investigation by the SIU into billions of Rands worth of contracts entered into by the state for resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of these contracts remain under investigation by the unit and a supplementary report will be handed over to the President by June this year.

“This investigation targeted individuals and institutions who believed they could exploit a moment of national vulnerability to enrich themselves and those with whom they colluded to abuse public resources.

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President @CyrilRamaphosa has authorised the release to the public of the final report of the investigation by the Special Investigating Unit into procurement by all spheres of government of goods, works and services associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. https://t.co/4BB7Sv1VKB

— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) January 25, 2022

Photo: GCIS

South Africa detected 1 332 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24-hour reporting cycle, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Monday.

According to NICD data, Gauteng remains the hardest-hit province, with 460 people who have contracted the virus, followed by 232 in the Western Cape, 213 in KwaZulu-Natal and 114 in Mpumalanga.
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#COVID19 UPDATE: 17,187 tests were conducted in the last 24hrs, with 1,332 new cases representing a 7.8% positivity rate. Today, @HealthZA reports 88 deaths, of which 14 occurred in the past 24–48 hours. The total fatalities are 94,265 to date. More here: https://t.co/36qCOGpWoz pic.twitter.com/zfXV31XXav

— NICD (@nicd_sa) January 24, 2022

Photo: GCIS

As the country strives to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa says science and technology have a key role to play in economic recovery.

Addressing the country in his weekly newsletter, the President said science and innovation are playing a far more prominent role both in efforts to overcome the disease and rebuild the economy.

Last week, the President attended the launch of a state-of-the-art vaccine manufacturing campus in Cape Town. 

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From The Desk of The President – Monday, 24 January 2022 https://t.co/JpQYpPmqsT As the country strives to recover from the effects of COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing science and innovation playing a far more prominent role both in our efforts to overcome the disease pic.twitter.com/wIi9LUJcNV

— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) January 24, 2022

Photo: GCIS