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COVID-19 is still very much a part of our everyday lives.

Masks, curfews (even if it’s now just midnight to 4AM), and the looming prospect of a fourth wave come mid-December.

I think today is day 601 of living under some form of lockdown, but I stand to be corrected.

When the numbers drop, as they have done in recent weeks, we tend not to pay much attention.

So let’s see what the latest numbers, announced last night, reveal about where we stand.

This via the National Institute For Communicable Diseases Of South Africa (NICD):

Today the institute reports 566 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 926 914. This increase represents a 1.6% positivity rate.

As per the National Department of Health, a further 11 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 89 515 to date.

Just 566 confirmed new cases over a 24-hour period and 11 deaths, bringing the total deaths to just shy of 90 000.

We know from studying excess death trends that the real number is likely significantly higher, but that is a huge drop-off from where we were when the third wave was in full swing.

It’s also very heartening to see the test positivity rate as low as 1,6%.

News24 has a COVID-19 dashboard which clearly illustrates how that number has plummeted in recent weeks:

Hopefully as more South Africans get vaccinated, we can mitigate how bad the next resurgence in numbers will be.

[sources:nicd&news24]