Third wave hot-spots: Where are cases, hospitalisations, and deaths rising fastest?

Make no mistake, the third wave is here. Regardless of technical jargon, it’s hard to ignore the data which is being presented to us every single day. Cases, hospitalisations, and deaths are all spiking at a national level – and every province has seen increases in test positivity rates and new infection figures this week.

South Africa facing ‘more lockdown restrictions’

South Africa isn’t that far off a ‘family meeting’ with Cyril Ramaphosa, and with the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) meeting on Tuesday, a new set of tougher lockdown restrictions are all but inevitable. As revealed by the Health Department last night, the numbers are heading in the wrong direction – across all major metrics.

“Nationally, there has been a 17.0% increase in new cases compared to seven days prior. All provinces continue to show increases in new cases compared to the week before. The new test positivity rate has shown a percentage increase across the board, and hospitalisations have risen by 11.9% since Wednesday 18 May.”

“In the last 24 hours, 102 deaths have been reported: Three in the Eastern Cape, 32 in Free State, 36 in Gauteng, 11 in KwaZulu-Natal, 19 in the Northern Cape, and one in the Western Cape. None have been reported in Limpopo Mpumalanga. This brings the total death toll to 55 976 – reported as at 18:00 on Wednesday 25 May.”

Third wave: Where are the new hot-spots for cases, hospitalisations, and deaths in South Africa?

Measuring these trends out over the past week makes for a grim read – but some provinces are worse-off than others. Limpopo, for example, is now right in the thick of the third wave’s onslaught, as cases climb at an alarming rate. The Northern Cape, Gauteng, and Free State are also in serious trouble here…

• – The Northern Cape has seen the biggest ‘new case incidence‘ uptake in the past seven days.
• – Limpopo has seen the biggest case percentage change, compared to this time last week.
• – Gauteng is home to the sharpest rise in new hospitalisations from COVID-19 since 18 May
• – Limpopo, again, is now at the mercy of the wave – with test positivity now soaring in the province.
• – The Free State is tragically witnessing the death rate climb to some worrying levels.
• – The Eastern Cape, meanwhile, has the biggest increase in cases over a 14-day period…