About 8.4 million people have been vaccinated across the country thus far.

On Saturday, news broke that South Africa has officially exited the third wave of COVID-19 infections. This came after the country reported only 940 new cases across the various provinces. The bulk of these infections came from KwaZulu-Natal.

“Nationally, we have exited the third wave, according to the current definition. The national seven-day moving average of daily case numbers, positivity rate, and testing rate continue to decrease, with sustained decreases seen in all provinces,” a statement by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) read.

On the same day, the country recorded 51 new Coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the confirmed death toll to 87 052.

“The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD)… reports that 967 new Covid-19 cases have been identified in South Africa, representing a 5% positivity rate,” the NICD said.

“The majority of new cases today (Sunday) are from KwaZulu-Natal (28%), followed by Eastern Cape (17%). Western Cape accounted for 12%; Free State accounted for 10%; Gauteng province, North West and Northern Cape each accounted for 8%, respectively; Mpumalanga accounted for 7%, and Limpopo accounted for 1% of today’s new cases,” said NICD spokesperson Sinenhlanhla Jimoh.

Although infections have been slowing down in the country for the past couple of weeks, it was only over the weekend that government officials confirmed we have left the third wave, which gripped the country economically and socially.

Recently, the President also placed the country on a relaxed level of lockdown restrictions. One of the most significant new regulations pertains to the fact that more people are allowed at indoor and outdoor gatherings. Many commentators have viewed this as a step in the right direction as the country ramps up its vaccination efforts.