Pretoria - Deputy President David Mabuza says Professor Gita Ramjee's passing, from complications related to the coronavirus, is a huge blow for the healthcare sector.
Ramjee was revered for her work on HIV prevention which had a focus on the risk factors faced by South African women. Ramjee was also involved in attempts to find a cure for HIV.
She was the chief specialist and the director of the South African Research Council's HIV prevention unit.
Her death was announced on Wednesday morning and brought home the reality of the devastating impact of the novel Covid-19 coronavirus.
There have been 1353 confirmed cases of the virus in the country and five deaths as of Tuesday afternoon.
The country is currently on day six on a 21-day national lockdown which aims to curb the spread of the virus.
Mbabuza said the country had lost a champion in the fight against HIV.
"The passing of Professor Ramjee comes as a huge blow to the entirety of the healthcare sector and the global fight against HIV/AIDS. In her, we have indeed lost a champion in the fight against the HIV epidemic, ironically at the hands of this global pandemic.
"In her honour, we should heed the call to flatten the curve by strengthening our responses to this global pandemic as well as continue the fight to achieve zero new HIV infections. We would like to convey our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Professor Ramjee as well as to the medical research community. May her soul rest in peace," Mabuza said.