Cape Town – The country now has 35 812 confirmed coronavirus cases – an increase of 1 455 compared to yesterday's figures – Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize confirmed on Tuesday.
Mkhize has not yet announced the number of recoveries, but as of June 1 they stood at 17 291 and the number of deaths were confirmed at 705.
Mkhize said testing efforts were progressing well across the nation.
"At this stage, 761,534 tests have been done, of which, in the past 24 hours, 18,792 tests have been done."
Mkhize is still visiting the Western Cape, which has become the epicentre of the country’s battle with the coronavirus, for a second day.
The Western Cape has 23 583 cases – an increase of 1 016 – the Eastern Cape 4 324, Gauteng 4 276 and KwaZulu-Natal 2 637.
The latest number of coronavirus cases, according to the Department of Health:
On Monday, Mkhize said there was a possibility of a shortage of beds as cases rise, especially in the Western Cape. There was an effort under way to deal with possible shortages, the minister said, even though he admitted that cases were rising at a higher rate.
One of the facilities he visited included a 60-bed Covid-19 field hospital in Khayelitsha to help manage hospital overflow for moderate cases.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF), with Mkhize, officials from the provincial government, the Khayelitsha District Hospital and City of Cape Town launched the field hospital yesterday.
It will be operational for three months and will have a full complement of medical staff. “It's a reality that if the epidemic peaks as predicted, a certain number of people will fall ill and need treatment," Mkhize said.
The country went into level 3 of the national lockdown on Monday which saw various parts of the economy open up for business.