SA recorded 12,757 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours — overtaking, at least for now, Spain to become the eighth worst-hit nation in terms of caseload.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said in a statement on Wednesday evening that the national death toll had reached 4,453.

The cumulative number of infections in the country now stands at 311,049.

According to Worldometer, a website providing Covid-19 stats daily, the latest cumulative number of infections puts SA in eighth place in the global rankings, close to Mexico.

The number of people who have recovered in SA is 160,693 which translates to a recovery rate of 51.7%. 

Gauteng health authorities said on Wednesday that 5,576 people with Covid-19 were being treated in private and public hospitals in the province. This was an increase of 952 people since Monday.

Know when it's time to go to hospital for Covid-19

One of SA's top Covid-19 experts has advised South Africans to “seek help immediately” if they have chest pains or shortness of breath.

“The main symptoms of low oxygen are chest pain and difficulty with breathing,” said Prof Shabir Madhi, who is on the Covid-19 advisory council to the department of health and is head of the vaccine trials in the country.

SowetanLIVE's sister publication TimesLIVE reported earlier on Wednesday about the signs to look out for.