Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Cases in South Africa by Sub-District

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has received requests from insurance companies, business owners and members of the public to provide information on the location and dates of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases in South Africa to facilitate the lodging and assessment of insurance claims.

The below link contains the date of the first confirmed known SARS-CoV-2 case by sub-district, or health area within metropolitan areas. It is almost certain that there were undiagnosed SARS-CoV-2 cases in all sub-districts prior to the date of the first confirmed, geolocated case provided in the list.

Data sources and methods

The following data sources, as of 21 January 2021, were used to compile the list: + Laboratory data on all positive SARS-CoV-2 tests reported from public and private laboratories contained in the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) and NICD Data Warehouses + The DATCOV hospital admission surveillance database + COVID-19 Notifiable Medical Conditions Sentinel Surveillance (NMCSS) masterlist.

The date of specimen collection, or alternatively the date of laboratory registration of sample were used to determine first date of SARS-Cov-2 cases. Sub-district and health area locations were determined from geolocation of patient residential addresses, the addresses of health practitioners or facilities where samples were collected or where patients were admitted, and the district and sub-district assignment of cases within the NMCSS database. Manual review of some early cases was undertaken to improve accuracy.

Limitations

The list of first confirmed case is subject to the following limitations: + Possible incomplete reporting of SARS-CoV-2 tests to the NHLS and NICD + Incomplete reporting of COVID-19 hospital admissions to the NICD, particularly in the early stages of the epidemic + The district and sub-district location of independent private practitioners is unknown for the majority of samples submitted to private laboratories

Missing and incomplete patient address data

While processes to ensure the accuracy of methods employed to geolocation non-standardised address fields have been implemented and are continuously being refined, geolocations may be subject to error. In particular addresses in informal settlements are less likely to be able to be geolocated resulting in a higher likelihood of these addresses not being geolocated.

Provincial and district departments of health, individual health care providers and members of the public may have access to other sources of information regarding the timing, location, and movement of COVID-19 cases. Delays between infection and sample collection have not been taken into account.

The NICD continues to refine the geolocation algorithms and incorporate additional sources of data to compile the list of first confirmed cases by sub-district. As of 21 January 2021, 13.6% of cases in the NMCSS had not been allocated to a district and 27% had not been allocated to a sub-district. As our geolocation algorithms are refined, and additional data sources are incorporated, the dates of first confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases may change

Data Dictionary

• Province - The South African province
• District
• Subdistrict
• Date of first known confirmed case in province
• Date of first known confirmed case in district
• Date of first known confirmed case in sub-district