28 more Covid-19 deaths, SA now has over 20 000 cases

A man reacts as a heath worker to collect a sample for coronavirus testing during the screening and testing campaign aimed to combat the spread of Covid-19 at Tembisa township. Picture: Themba Hadebe/AP/Africa News Agency (ANA)

A man reacts as a heath worker to collect a sample for coronavirus testing during the screening and testing campaign aimed to combat the spread of Covid-19 at Tembisa township. Picture: Themba Hadebe/AP/Africa News Agency (ANA)

Published May 22, 2020

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Johannesburg - South Africa now has over 20 000 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus and 28 more deaths, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Friday night. 

Mkhize said there were 988 new infections, taking the total cases to 20 125, while there were also 28 more deaths, taking the death toll to 397. 

The new deaths were from the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. 

Since Monday, 102 people have now been killed by the coronavirus in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces. In the rest of the country, in the same period, 34 people have died. 

This means, since Monday, 136 people have been killed by the virus, with the youngest being a premature newborn baby whose mother had been infected by the virus.  

The country is currently in Day 57 of its national lockdown, which was instituted to curb the spread of the virus. 

Early this month, South Africa eased into level 4 of the national lockdown, which allowed just over one million workers to return to work, after instituting the strict level 5 lockdown for 35 days. 

In easing into level 4 of the lockdown, the wearing of cloth masks became compulsory for all who were in public. Shops are refusing to serve those who do not cover their faces. 

Mkhize said 543 000 people had now been tested for the virus, with the last 18 000 tests conducted over the last 24 hours. 

South Africa is expected to ease into level 3 lockdown from June. 

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