COVID-19 Cases in South Africa Rise to Over Half a Million

With 8 195 new identified cases, South Africa now has 511 485 people, who have contracted the novel Coronavirus.

The country recorded 213 deaths on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 8 366.

Of the additional fatalities, the Free State reported 51 deaths, Western Cape 43, Gauteng 40, KwaZulu-Natal 31, Eastern Cape 25 and Limpopo 23.

The country’s epicentre, Gauteng, now has 180 532 recorded infections, Western Cape 96 838, Eastern Cape 79 410 and KwaZulu-Natal 82 300.

The Free State has 23 099 reported infections, North West 19 961, Mpumalanga 15 120, Limpopo 9 044 and Northern Cape 5 131.

Fifty cases are still unallocated.

On Saturday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the daily increase in infections appears to be stabilising, particularly in the Western Cape, Gauteng and Eastern Cape.

“While it may be too soon to draw firm conclusions, this suggests that the prevention measures that South Africans have implemented are having an effect.

“Our recovery rate is currently around 68%. Our case fatality rate, which is the number of deaths as a proportion of confirmed cases, remains at 1.6%, significantly lower than the global average,” the President said, adding that the country has only the 36th highest number of deaths as a proportion of the population.

However, he urged citizens to remain vigilant until there are zero cases in the country.

According to the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, more than three million people have been tested, with 34 794 tests done in the last 24 hours, while 347 227 people have recovered to date.

Globally, there are over 17.6 million cases and 680 894 deaths to date, according to the World Health Organisation. – SAnews.gov.za