South Africa reports record daily COVID cases amid omicron wave

South Africa hit another record for daily COVID-19 infections on Wednesday.

The country recorded 26,976 infections in the past day, according to the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). 

This figure tops the country’s previous high, which was prompted by the spread of the delta variant in July, according to Reuters.  

In addition to the new infections, South Africa also reported 54 new COVID-19 deaths, 620 hospital admissions and a positivity rate of over 32 percent on Wednesday, the data from the NICD showed.

South Africa is currently in its fourth wave of the virus amid the emergence of the new omicron variant, which was first detected in the country last month. Since then, the variant has been identified in over 70 countries, per Reuters. 

On Tuesday, South Africa reported an 83 percent spike in infections over the prior week. The World Health Organization warned the same day that Africa may not reach its vaccination goal of getting shots to 70 percent of the continent’s population until late 2024, two years after the initial target date.

Earlier this week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is fully vaccinated, tested positive for COVID-19 and used his diagnosis as an opportunity to promote vaccinations for the general public. 

“President Ramaphosa says his own infection serves as a caution to all people in the country to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure,” the statement from the government announcing the president’s infection said. “Vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization.”