GARDEN ROUTE | KAROO NEWS -  The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reports a 17,1% decrease in the number of new Covid-19 cases detected in week 1 of 2023 (904) compared with the number of new cases detected in week 52 of 2022 (1 091).

According to the NICD's weekly Covid-19 surveillance report released on Friday 13 January, in week 1 the percentage testing positive was 8,6%, which is not a significant change from the previous week (9,0% in week 52).

The percentage testing positive in week 1 was highest in the ≥80 year age group (22,8%), followed by the 75-79 year (20,0%) age group.

Western Cape Province reported the highest weekly incidence risk (2,7 cases per 100 000 persons), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (2,5 cases per 100 000 persons) and Gauteng and Eastern Cape (1,4 cases per 100 000 persons). The other provinces reported weekly incidences below 1,0 cases per 100 000 persons.

In the week leading up to 13 January, four provinces reported a decrease in weekly incidence risk, ranging from 0,3 cases per 100 000 persons (28,3%) in Mpumalanga to 0,4 cases per 100 000 persons (36,9%) in the Free State. 

Three provinces reported an increase ranging from 0,1 cases per 100 000 persons (53,8%) in Limpopo to 0,4 cases per 100 000 persons (15,5%) in the Western Cape. One province reported no change.

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