Third-wave Covid-19 cases in the Western Cape have surpassed the number of infections recorded in the province during the first wave.
During the weekly digital briefing on Thursday, Dr Keith Cloete, head of the Western Cape health department, said that the province was experiencing a surge in cases.
He said case numbers in the province are increasing rapidly now, and with an average of 1430 new diagnoses each day.
As at 1pm on 1 July 2021, the Western Cape had recorded 19 825 active Covid-19 infections.
The proportion of Covid-19 tests positive has also increased markedly to an average of 25%.
Admissions to hospitals are increasing with an average of 135 new admissions per day, while deaths have also increased, with around 25 deaths each day.
The Western Cape Government said it is now adjusting its Covid-19 response given the emergence of the Delta variant.
Premier Alan Winde said the Delta variant has been identified in the Metro, Garden Route and Overberg. The provincial health department is also sequencing data for other districts to identify where else it may be present.
“Evidence indicates that the symptom profile of the Delta variant could differ from other variants. The most prominent symptoms that we are seeing are cold-like symptoms such as headache, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, fever and anosmia,” Winde said.