Johannesburg - Three out of every four new infections recorded on Friday were from the Western Cape province, data released by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize shows.
In terms of deaths, there were 17 new deaths, and nine from the Western Cape - meaning every other new death was from the province.
This means that 75% of South Africa’s 663 new infections came from the province which also has the most cases and deaths in the country.
Mkhize says officials from the national health department will visit the province, along with the Eastern Cape this weekend.
Next week, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mkhize will visit both provinces as Covid-19 continues to spread rapidly, while deaths are also rising sharply.
The Western Cape has 4497 confirmed cases and leads the death charts with 88, half the country’s total deaths of 178.
In numbers, the Western Cape had 503 out of the 663 new infections and nine of the 17 new Covid-19 deaths were also from the province.
The other deaths were from KZN, with two deaths, while Gauteng and the Eastern Cape had three deaths each.
Gauteng also had 131 new infections, Eastern Cape - 60 and KZN, 49.
LATEST BREAKDOWN
New Deaths
New Cases
Total Cases
Total Deaths
South Africa
17
663
8895
178
Western Cape
9
503
4497
88
Gauteng
3
131
1851
18
KZN
2
49
1253
42
Eastern Cape
3
60
989
18
Free State
0
0
133
6
Mpumalanga
0
1
60
0
Limpopo
0
2
43
3
N West
0
2
42
0
N Cape
0
0
27
0
South Africa had now conducted over 307 000 tests, of which, more than 15 500 were conducted in the past 24 hours.
Added to this, Mkhize said 8.2 million people had been screened.
Mkhize said in terms of Covid-19 patients who were in hospital, there were a total of 435.
-
45 patients in high care
-
77 in ICU
-
40 on ventilators
“Our hospitalization rate remains at 5% of all Covid-19 diagnosed patients,” said Mkhize.
CAPE CONCERN
Said Mkhize: “The (Western and Eastern Cape) provinces have recorded the two highest new cases in the past 24 hours with Western Cape accounting for 76% of new cases and the Eastern Cape accounting for 9% of new cases.
“In addition, the Western Cape has just over 50% of the COVID-19 burden in South Africa, recording the highest deaths as well.
“With interprovincial movement between these provinces being an issue, it will be crucial for us to understand the dynamics driving the epidemic in this region and assist where necessary. We know that a lot of good work has been done by the leadership of these provinces.
“We also acknowledge the commitment and hard work of our health professionals and frontline workers - both in public and private sectors,” he said.