On Wednesday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said there is reason for 'cautious optimism' as the country's Covid-19 infection rate seems to be declining. Meanwhile, SECTION27 has expressed disappointment in the particulars of the government's plan to restart the National School Nutrition Programme.

Scroll through the gallery below to view the latest Covid-19 numbers available on 5 August at the district level. All maps are sourced from provincial health departments. The Gauteng health department has not released these numbers since 2 August, when it published a notice that "data harmonisation" would delay the release of figures for that day. In addition, Free State, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga did not provide an update by the time of publishing:

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize is "cautiously optimistic" about an apparent downward trend in South Africa's Covid-19 infection rate. Speaking during Wednesday's briefing on the outbreak, he said lockdown restrictions will probably stay put to prevent a second, bigger surge. In addition, Covid-19 tests will be done in all cases of sudden death to improve death records.

Daily-Digest-Outbreak-Decline: A chart showing the total number of Covid-19 tests performed alongside the positive cases confirmed in South Africa over time, according to...