Durban - A total of 3478 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in South Africa to 83 890.
On Thursday, the Health Ministry announced 63 new deaths had been reported between the Eastern and Western Cape, with the total number of Covid-19-related deaths in SA now standing at 1737.
The Eastern Cape recorded six deaths, while 57 fatalities were reported in the Western Cape. Meanwhile, the number of recoveries now stands at 44 920.
According to Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, 1 228 098 tests have been completed in total of which 27 362 new tests are reported in the last 24 hours.
The Western Cape remains the province with the highest number of confirmed cases, standing at 47 522, followed by Gauteng with 15 898 and the Eastern Cape with 12 639 cases.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has warned that even with the easing of lockdown restrictions, the country is approaching a heavy storm in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
On Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the relaxation of certain lockdown regulations which would see more sectors of the economy opening for trade.
However, Mkhize said it was now important that citizens balance the behavioural changes to decrease the spread of the virus.
"Several weeks ago, we warned of a heavy storm. We are driving right into the storm. The impact of the pandemic is going to be a challenge. It will be important that we deal with the changes that have to be done in our lives. We cannot have the whole country go on a restriction while people go hungry.
"We have to balance the livelihoods and saving lives. So, we are now saying there is a new way of behaviour that needs to co-exist with the virus. Reduce the spread of infections while saving the economy. It also means we have to balance the behavioural change. Now people need to understand that our lives depend on it," Mkhize said.
The minister said before the lockdown cases were doubling every two days and now cases were doubling every 12 days and, in some areas, every 9 days.