South Africa reported a record 17,710 daily increase in coronavirus infections onWednesday, surpassing the previous high of about 14,500 set several days ago, Reuters reports. "As of today, the cumulative total identified is 1,039,161 with 17,710 (positivity rate 33 percent) identified since the last report," the health ministry said in a statement. The positivity rate is the percentage of people testing positive of total people tested. "The positivity rate, being an indicator of the rapidity of spread, remains of major concern," the ministry said. South Africa, which has the highest number of cases on the continent, has been battling a major surge in coronavirus cases since the end of November, owing largely to a new strain of a virus called 501.V2, the government has said.

Source: The Standard December 31, 2020 07:18 UTC