Over 13,500 new Covid-19 cases in SA in another record-shattering day

South Africa recorded its highest ever single-day increase in Covid-19 cases, with 13,674 infections confirmed in the past 24 hours.

Nearly half of these new cases - a massive 6,531 - were recorded in Gauteng.

This is according to statistics released by the health minister on Thursday night - based on the highest number of tests done in SA in a single day (56,170).

The new cases mean there are now 238,339 confirmed cases of the illness across SA.

An additional 129 deaths were reported in the same period, taking the national total to 3,720. Of these, 37 were recorded in both Gauteng and the Western Cape, 28 were in the Eastern Cape, 26 in KwaZulu-Natal and one was in the Northern Cape.

The ministry also announced that it had corrected a "data interpretation error" regarding Limpopo's death statistics, and had since corrected it from 44 to 33 cases.

Gauteng overtook the Western Cape as the country's coronavirus epicentre on Wednesday, and the statistics for Thursday show that it continues to experience the most number of cases and the biggest increase in infections.

As of Thursday:

• Gauteng has 81,546 cases (up from 75,015 on Wednesday). It has recorded 515 deaths and 23,804 recoveries;
• The Western Cape has 74,815 cases (up from 73,292). The province has recorded the highest numbers of deaths (2,229) and recoveries (55,534);
• The Eastern Cape has 44,432 cases (up from 42,357). There have been 610 deaths and 24,304 recoveries recorded;
• KZN has 19,630 cases (up from 17,962). The province has recorded 249 deaths and 5,505 recoveries;
• The North West has 7,870 cases (up from 7,147). Here, 36 deaths and 1,574 recoveries have been reported;
• The Free State has 3,724 cases (up from 3,259). Nineteen deaths and 629 recoveries have been recorded;
• Mpumalanga has 2,902 cases (up from 2,528). It has also recorded 22 deaths and 779 recoveries;
• Limpopo has 2,381 cases (up from 2,131). Here, 33 deaths and 665 recoveries have been recorded; and
• The Northern Cape has 1,039 cases (up from 974). Seven deaths and 267 recoveries have been recorded.

The figures are based on 2,000,569 total tests, of which 56,170 were done in the past 24 hour cycle.