Durban - More than 4000 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in South Africa in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases to 80 412.
On Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that there were 34 407 active cases of Covid-19 in SA with more than 44 000 people recovering from Covid-19.
He said there had also been an increase of Covid-19-related deaths, bringing the total count to 1674.
Ramaphosa addressed the country on developments in South Africa’s risk-adjusted strategy to manage the spread of Covid-19.
The President’s address follows a number of meetings of the Cabinet, the National Coronavirus Command Council and the Presidential Coordinating Council.
He said government had noted that cases in the Western Cape accounted for more than 60% of the country's total cases.
"While community transmission has remained low across the country for the past nine weeks, it has been rising rapidly in the Western Cape. The Eastern Cape is starting to see an increase in cases," he said.
"Even after 100 days, we are still near the beginning of this epidemic and it will remain with us for many more months, possibly years. The task of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is a marathon and not a sprint and we have therefore shaped our response according to that reality," he said.
Ramaphosa said the primary purpose of the lockdown was to start to flatten the curve, preventing the surge of cases in April and May.
"We have seen that simple precautions and changes in behaviour can reduce the spread of Covid-19. Strict social distancing, the use of cloth masks in public and proper hand hygiene are vital to our success in overcoming this virus," he said.