Cape Town – A total of 1 027 new Covid-19-related cases have been identified in the country, with the cumulative number of detected cases rising to 683 242, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Tuesday.
There have been 87 more Covid-19-related deaths, compared to 40 yesterday: 4 from the Eastern Cape, 35 from KwaZulu-Natal, 28 from Gauteng, 5 from North West and 15 from the Western Cape, Mkhize said. This brings the total number of deaths to 17 103.
'’Our recoveries now stand at 616 857, which translates to a recovery rate of 90%,’’ said Mkhize.
The cumulative number of tests conducted to date is 4 294 931, with 14 591 new tests conducted since the last report.
Meanwhile, Britain's health ministry said on Tuesday it had bought 1 million Covid-19 antibody tests that can indicate whether someone has had the disease within 20 minutes.
The ministry said it had bought the tests, which use a finger-prick device and do not need to be sent to a lab, from the UK Rapid Test Consortium.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned European countries on Tuesday about "pandemic fatigue", which it says threatens the continent's ability to tackle the coronavirus.
"Although fatigue is measured in different ways, and levels vary per country, it is now estimated to have reached over 60 percent in some cases," WHO Europe director Dr Hans Kluge said in a statement.
He said this is based on "aggregated survey data from countries across the region.
"Citizens have made huge sacrifices over the last eight months to try and contain the coronavirus,“ he said.
"In such circumstances it is easy and natural to feel apathetic and demotivated, to experience fatigue."
Kluge called on European authorities to listen to the public and work with them in "new and innovative ways" to reinvigorate the fight against Covid-19, which is on the increase throughout Europe.
A 40-year-old US woman who underwent a Covid-19 nasal swab test experienced more than just an uncomfortable itch and tickle – the swab procedure ended up rupturing the lining at the base of her skull, causing cerebrospinal fluid to leak from her nose and putting her at risk of brain infection.
The case was reported in the medical journal, JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery this week.
The doctors wrote that the patient had a rare undiagnosed condition, and that the test she received may have been carried out improperly, causing the rupture, meaning the health risks associated with nasal swab tests remain very low.
IOL