Clinical Manager at the health facility, Franco Erasmus, tells OFM News, that they do not differentiate between the varying Covid-19 strains when probed on how many cases of the Omicron variant have been detected at the hospital.

Meanwhile the Free State Health Department has confirmed, that the variant which is behind the country’s fourth wave, is present in the central South African province.

According to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), 23 884 new cases have been identified in the last 24-hour cycle, with 24 people losing their lives to the deadly virus.

The vast majority of the new cases are still being found in Gauteng which accounts for 36% of the cases, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 22%, Western Cape with 13% and the Eastern Cape making up 7% of the cases.

The Free State and the North West account for 6% of the new cases, whereas the Northern Cape accounts for only 1% of the nearly 24 000 new cases.

The provincial health department has in light of the spike called on residents in the province to continue practicing the required Covid-19 protocols and get vaccinated when they can.

This is despite the prevalence of vaccination hesitancy in the country.

OFM News