Cape Town - South Africa has recorded 1 247 new coronavirus cases and a further 36 deaths, according to the Department of Health.
Monday’s confirmed cases take the total number of infections in the country since the start of the pandemic to 738 525.
CASE DATA
Gauteng remains the worst-affected province with a total of 230 412 confirmed cases and 4 863 deaths.
However, the Free State, at 10 539, currently has the highest number of active cases nationally, while Limpopo at 414 has the lowest number of active cases. Gauteng currently has 4 863 active cases.
TESTING
“The cumulative number of tests conducted to date is 4 993 081 with 12 641 new tests conducted since the last report,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize confirmed on Monday.
DEATHS AND RECOVERIES
The total number of Covid-19 related deaths nationally now stands at 19 845. Among the latest fatalities, 8 were from the Eastern Cape, 20 from the Free State, 1 from Gauteng, 1 from Mpumalanga and 6 from the Western Cape.
Thirteen of the 36 deaths reported today occurred over the past 24 to 48 hours, Mkhize said. These included 4 in the Eastern Cape, 2 in the Free State, 1 in Gauteng and 6 in the Western Cape.
“Our recoveries now stand at 680 726 which translates to a recovery rate of 92%,” Mkhize said.
RAMAPHOSA TO GIVE LOCKDOWN UPDATE
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to update the nation on the government’s risk adjusted strategy to manage the spread of the virus this week. Speculation is rife that the president is preparing to lift the state of disaster, ending the lockdown which started on March 27, ruining the economy but possibly saving thousands of lives.
VACCINE UPDATE
On Monday, Pfizer Inc and BioNTech said initial trial results have shown their coronavirus vaccine to be more than 90 percent effective at preventing Covid-19, based on data from the first 94 people in the trial to be infected with the coronavirus.
The overwhelming majority of infections occurred among people who received a placebo rather than the vaccine. Scientists have welcomed the news but say that many questions remain unanswered.