South Africa recorded 3,961 new COVID-19 infections from a sample size of 35,965 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative caseload to 2,858,195.

The figures were published by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, 126 new fatalities were recorded in the same period, bringing the country's total virus-related deaths to 84,877.

South Africa is the hardest-hit country by the pandemic in Africa, accounting for 35.62 percent of the continent’s caseload and 41.83 percent of its death toll.

The majority of new cases registered in the country are from KwaZulu-Natal (28%), followed by Eastern Cape (20%).

The country has embarked on a rigorous mass vaccination exercise in efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

So far, more than 14.67 million doses of vaccines have been administered.