Gauteng recorded 8 280 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday, with a total of 11 535 new confirmed infections recorded countrywide.

As the fourth wave of infections approaches, the number of new daily cases have increased to more than 11 000.

According to a statement by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the country recorded 2 988 148 cumulative laboratory-confirmed cases. As of Thursday, 44 new Covid-19 deaths were recorded, bringing the confirmed death toll to 89 915.

"The NICD… reports 11 535 new Covid-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa. This increase represents a 22.4% positivity rate," the statement read.

The majority of new cases on Thursday were recorded in Gauteng, which accounted for 72%, followed by the Western Cape with 6%. KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 5% of new infections; Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West 4% each; and the Free State and the Eastern Cape 2% each. The Northern Cape accounted for 1% of new cases.

Gauteng recorded 8 280 new cases on Thursday, the Western Cape 727 and KwaZulu-Natal 630.

There were 274 new hospital admissions in the last 24-hour reporting cycle. As of Thursday, 2 904 people were in hospital for Covid-19.

South Africa conducted 19 580 433 cumulative tests, of which 51 402 were carried out in the last 24-hour cycle.

According to the Department of Health, 26 109 436 vaccine doses have been administered. Of those, 153 240 were administered in the last 24-hour cycle. To date, 14 641 965 adults are fully vaccinated, and 542 642 children have received one vaccine dose.