Rustenburg - The 52-year-old North West man who died a Covid-19-related death suffered from several additional health complications.
Health MEC Madoda Sambatha warned North West residents not to be deceived by the low number of Covid-19 cases after the province recorded its first death.
"We are saddened to report that on Monday, 11 May 2020, the province reported its first Covid-19-related death. The deceased is a 52-year-old male from Rustenburg who presented with severe respiratory distress, hypertension, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease," North West Health Department spokesperson Tebogo Lekgethwane said in a statement.
"We express our deepest condolences to the family and appreciate the healthcare workers who treated the patient."
The province has recorded 51 cases, with a total of 24 people recovering. Of the recoveries, 16 are in Bojanala District, five in Dr Kenneth Kaunda District, two in Ngaka Modiri Molema and one in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati.
"We thank all our healthcare workers for their continued dedication and commitment to serve people of the North West province," Lekgethwane said.
Sambatha said: "Do not be deceived by the low number of Covid-19 cases in the North West province. What we are faced with now is cluster infections and it is very dominant at funerals where people do not obey rules.
"It is very dominant in general shopping where people go in shops in their numbers," he said in a recorded video.
South Africa recorded 698 more cases on Tuesday, the highest so far. The total number of confirmed cases was 11 350, with 206 deaths and 4 357 recoveries.
A number of southern African countries have recorded a number of recoveries – Namibia has 11 recoveries out of 16 cases; Malawi 24 out of 57 cases; Zambia 117 out of 267 cases; Eswatini 28 out of 184 cases; Mozambique 34 out of 103 cases, Angola 23 out 45 cases, Botswana 12 out of 24 cases; and Zimbabwe nine out of 37 cases.
Lesotho is the only southern African country which has not recorded Covid-19 case so far.