Cape Town - South Africa has recorded 1 585 confirmed Covid-19 cases and nine deaths from the disease on the eighth day of a national lockdown imposed in a bid to limit the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus. The latest figures were released by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Saturday night.
This is an increase of 80 cases on Friday's total of 1505 confirmed infections and nine fatalities.
The total number of Covid-19 tests conducted to date is 53 937.
The breakdown of confirmed cases per province to date is as follows:
- Gauteng - 693
- Western Cape - 433
- KwaZulu-Natal - 232
- Free State - 85
- North West - 11
- Mpumalanga - 18
- Limpopo - 18
- Eastern Cape - 25
- Northern Cape - 7
- Unallocated - 63
The health department has also called on patients who recently visited St Augustine's Hospital in Durban, where three people have died and a number of staff members have tested positive for Covid-19, to contact the provincial health department.
"As part of intensifying the contact tracing and testing process, KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu has also requested that Netcare avails a list of its patients that were exposed to the hospital as from the beginning of March. We therefore make a public announcement that if you were a patient at St Augustine’s Hospital from 1 March 2020 to date, we request that you contact the KZN Department of Health," the department said on Saturday night.
On Friday, KZN premier Sihle Zikalala announced that three patients died from Covid-19 at Netcare St Augustine’s Hospital in Durban and that 11 healthcare workers had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Netcare CEO Dr Richard Friedland, in a statement issued immediately after the KZN premier's announcement, said two of the patients were first admitted to the hospital on March 9 and 13 respectively, and the third patient on March 14.
He said the patients did not have a history of recent international travel or known contact with a person who was Covid-19 positive, nor did they present with any symptoms of Covid-19 when they were screened on admission.
Breakdown of confirmed deaths associated with Covid-19 to date:
- A 48-year-old female from the Western Cape
- An 85-year-old male from the Feee State
- A 79-year-old male from Gauteng
- A 46-year-old female from KwaZulu-Natal
- A 74-year-old male from KwaZulu-Natal
- A 63-year-old female from KwaZulu-Natal
- A 81-year-old female from KwaZulu-Natal
- A 80-year-old female from KwaZulu-Natal
- A 80-year-old male from KwaZulu-Natal
President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired a virtual Presidential Coordinating Council (PCC) meeting from his private residence in Johannesburg on Saturday morning.
Co-chaired by Deputy President David Mabuza and comprising Ministers, Premiers and SALGA, the meeting was held to discuss the progress made and challenges faced in the implementation of the nationwide, national and provincial responses to the 21-day national lockdown called to try and contain the spread of the coronavirus, as well as develop a strategy to guide the country towards economic recovery.
IOL
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** If you think you have been exposed to the Covid-19 virus, please call the 24-hour hotline on 0800 029 999 or visit sacoronavirus.co.za