While the NHLS' machinery gives it the capacity to do 35,000 tests a day, it only does about 10,000 because of the availability of the test kits.
A health worker at a screening and testing site in Alexandra Stadium, 27 April 2020. The mobile testing vehicles targeted Joburg's epicenter region E, and had testing vehicles all around the area which included Sandton, Marlboro Riverclub and Modderfontein, among others. Picture: Neil McCartney
On 25 May, the “exact figure of specimens that have not been processed” was 96,480, the Department of Health confirmed after much confusion.“As of 8 June 2020, the NHLS has conducted 492,704 tests,” NHLS CEO Kamy Chetty told the MPs. The Western Cape has a positivity rate of 18.56%, much higher than the national average of 5.9%. The Eastern Cape has the second-highest positivity rate with 5.4%.
The downward trend in the backlog is illustrated by the following: On 21 May, the backlog was 101,000 specimens; by 25 May, it was 96,480; by 28 May, it was 83,767; by 4 June, it was 81,069; by 6 June, it was 70,219; and by 10 June, it was 63,244.
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