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Johannesburg – South Africa now has more than 8,800 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus and 17 more deaths, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced Friday night.
Mkhize said there were 663 new infections, bringing the total number of cases to 8,895, while there were also 17 more deaths, bringing the number of deaths to 178.
The minister said the 17 new deaths stem from:
Western Cape Province – 9 deaths
Eastern Cape Province – 3 deaths
Gauteng – 3 deaths
KZN – 2 deaths
The country is currently on the 43rd day of its national closure, which was instituted to stop the spread of the virus.
Last Friday, South Africa entered level 4 of the national blockade and allowed just over a million workers to return to work, after instituting the strict level 5 blockade for 35 days.
Upon entering Level 4 of the running of the bulls, the use of cloth masks became compulsory for all who were in public. Stores refuse to serve those who do not cover their faces.
In the last week of the level 5 blockade, South Africa saw 1,694 new infections, between April 24-30.
In the same period, there were 24 Covid-19 related deaths.
And as the country entered the level 4 blockade, cases have not slowed down, with 3,248 cases and 75 deaths recorded in just 8 days between May 1-8.
Mkhize said more than 307,000 people had already been tested for the virus, and that the last 15,000 tests had been performed in the past 24 hours.
LAST BREAKDOWN
|
New deaths |
New cases |
Total cases |
Total deaths |
|
|
South Africa |
17 |
663 |
8895 |
178 |
|
W Cape |
9 9 |
503 |
4497 |
88 |
|
Gauteng |
3 |
131 |
1851 |
18 years |
|
KZN |
2 |
49 |
1253 |
42 |
|
E Cape |
3 |
60 60 |
989 |
18 years |
|
Free State |
0 0 |
0 0 |
133 |
6 6 |
|
Mpumalanga |
0 0 |
one |
60 60 |
0 0 |
|
Limpopo |
0 0 |
2 |
43 |
3 |
|
It is not this one |
0 0 |
2 |
42 |
0 0 |
|
Cape N |
0 0 |
0 0 |
27 |
0 0 |
On Thursday, Mkhize announced that he would accompany President Cyril Ramaphosa for a visit to the Western Cape. On Friday, he said this visit would now also extend to the Eastern Cape.
“The provinces have recorded the two highest new cases in the past 24 hours, with the Western Cape accounting for 76% of new cases and the Eastern Cape accounting for 9% of new cases.
Furthermore, the Western Cape has just over 50% of the COVID-19 burden in South Africa, registering the highest deaths as well.
“Since interprovincial movement between these provinces is a problem, it will be crucial for us to understand the dynamics that drive the epidemic in this region and to help when necessary. We know that the leadership of these provinces has done a lot of good work.
“We also recognize the commitment and hard work of our healthcare professionals and front-line workers, both in the public and private sectors,” said the minister.
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa announced earlier on Friday that up to 19,000 prisoners who had committed minor crimes could be released.
Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said the prisoners would not be released immediately, explaining that they would still have to go through the normal processes with the parole board before their possible release.
He said that those who had been convicted of violent crime, including murder and rape, would not be considered for release under the special parole waiver. He said the process to decongest prisons in the battle against the virus would take up to 10 weeks.
MESS
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