South Africa burdened by about 100,000 virus testing backlog

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 02:47 pm

Authorities in South Africa have expressed worry over shortages of COVID-19 testing kits and reagents as cases consistently rise in the country and across the continent.

Nearly 100,000 people have not taken the coronavirus tests in South Africa reports say. According to the Health Ministry, priority is now given to patients admitted to hospitals and health workers.

Other African countries have also been hit by the widespread shortages of testing kits. However some analyst believe the wealthier countries are knocking poorer counties out in the race to obtain crucial supplies.

South Africa has – as of May 29 – conducted more tests for the virus than any other country in Africa — more than 655,000 — and has the most confirmed cases with nearly 28,000.

“This challenge is caused by the limited availability of test kits globally,” the health ministry said in a statement overnight, putting the backlog at 96,480 as of Monday. Priority is given to processing tests from patients admitted to hospitals and health workers, it said.

Confirmed cases = 135,375

Number of deaths = 3,923

Recoveries = 56,401

Active cases = 75,051