The Health Department has recorded 1 376 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the number of total infections to 1 477 511.
There have been a further 183 COVID-19 related deaths in the country, bringing the national death toll to 46 473.
In a statement, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize says most of the new deaths were recorded in Gauteng.
“Regrettably, we report 183 more COVID-19 related deaths: 27 from Eastern Cape, 24 from the Free State, 45 from Gauteng, 12 from KwaZulu-Natal, 3 from Limpopo, 21 from Mpumalanga, 19 from North West, 2 from the Northern Cape and 30 from the Western Cape,” says Dr Mkhize.
The total number of recoveries stands at 1 363 947.
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As of today, the total number of confirmed #COVID19 cases is 1 477 511, the total number of deaths is 46 473 and the total number of recoveries is 1 363 947. pic.twitter.com/MuKzb0GwnO
— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) February 8, 2021
Meanwhile, healthcare workers in Gauteng have expressed mixed emotions about the temporary halting of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout in the country.
The comments come in the wake of a Wits and Oxford University study which has found that the AstraZeneca vaccine did not provide significant protection against mild to moderate COVID-19, which is caused by the new variant currently dominant in South Africa.
One million doses of the vaccine which expire in April arrived from the Serim Institute of India last week:
![[File photo] An employee of Spiez Lab work in the BSL-4 facility that is available to the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a repository for SARS-CoV-2 viruses or other pathogens with epidemic or pandemic potential.](https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/PADEMIC-OUTBREAK-120x86.jpg)
