SA recorded 4,623 new cases of Covid-19 infections and 102 deaths over the past 24 hours, the health department said late Wednesday, as it provided an update of the country's vaccination programme.

The Covid-related deaths were predominantly in North West (45) and Gauteng (24).

The Western Cape had nine fatalities, Free State six, Limpopo five and Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga four each.

The total number of people who have succumbed to the coronavirus is now 56,077.

Providing an update on the vaccination programme, the department said 282,135 people have received their first dose of the two-shot Pfizer vaccine.

The total number of people vaccinated under the Sisonke Programme for health workers is 479,768. These vaccinations were with the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot. The number has been adjusted as a result of data verification processes over the weekend in preparation for the finalisation of a public-facing live dashboard, said the department.

“The number reflected today is a result of this process, which removed duplications and vaccinations assigned incorrectly to Sisonke.”

The number of tests conducted to date is 11,452,185. Of these, 45,877 were conducted since the last report.

The overall number of Covid-19 cases identified in SA since the start of the pandemic is 1,645,555.

Cumulative recoveries now stand at 1,546,583 — representing a recovery rate of 94%.

TimesLIVE