PUBLISHER: B4SA
This update – the 47th of its kind – contains a consolidated overview of the South African supply chain and the current state of international trade. Fortunately, after eight consecutive weeks, there has been a slight decrease in newly reported COVID-19 infections in South Africa, averaging approximately 16 857 infections per day this week (↓16% from last week’s average of 19 956). But, unfortunately, the attention of the entire country has been diverted from the pandemic towards the civil unrest and widespread lawlessness which has plagued the country in the last week or so.
Nevertheless, the pandemic remains at the forefront of our minds, as the number of cases recorded in the country now totals 2,253 million6. Furthermore, the death toll has risen to 65 972 (up by 2 473), almost equalling another alarming increase last week. The total number of active cases remains an even more disturbing number, with active cases now exceeding 205 000, as South Africa remains in 18th place globally in terms of the total number of cases. More than 189 million cases have now been recorded worldwide, with a total of 4,07 million people losing their lives to the virus. In addition, a total of 3,51 billion vaccine doses have now been administered worldwide7. At the same time, South Africa continues with the pedestrian pace of its roll-out program, currently standing at some ~4,54 million vaccine doses. Before the widespread social unrest, South Africa was finally making some headway in accelerating our roll-out programme towards the daily target of 300 000 vaccinations. Unfortunately, due to the diversion of resources, unavailability of facilities and the reigning climate of fear, we have taken a significant knock on these targets. Nevertheless, we still managed to vaccinate some 1,2 million people in the last seven days, which was a victory given the events that transpired.
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Image credit: Business photo created by aleksandarlittlewolf – www.freepik.com