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Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize said in a statement Saturday night (May 2) that there are now 6,336 positive cases of Covid-19 in South Africa.
This increases 385 of the 5,951 Covid-19 cases announced Friday.
Dr. Mkhize also announced that seven other people died from the virus, bringing the total deaths to 123.
Recoveries are now 2,549, the minister said.
He said 230,686 tests have been performed to date, of which 13,164 have been completed in the last 24 hours.
The Western Cape has 2,700 infections, followed by Gauteng, with 1,598 cases.
Today the total number of confirmed # COVID-19 cases are 6,336, the total number of deaths is 123, and recoveries are now 2,549. pic.twitter.com/DH0Zn7SF5j
– Dr. Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) May 2, 2020
Global cases of coronavirus exceed 3.4 million, with more than 240,500 deaths and close to 1.1 million recoveries.
Of almost 1.1 million infected patients, 51,065 (2%) are considered severe or critical.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Gilead Sciences Inc’s experimental antiviral drug remdesivir for emergency use, and Japan has begun a special approval process for the treatment, Bloomberg reported.
It is the first drug backed by the first clinical data made available to fight the disease.
Virus survivors get sick again
Bloomberg reports that many people infected with the virus, who have been cleared by health authorities, test positive for Covid-19 again.
“This so-called false dawn phenomenon is puzzling to health experts as they try to deal with the mysterious pathogen that emerged just five months ago.
“Solving the puzzle will inform a wide range of challenges, from developing an effective vaccine to how quickly governments can safely end blockades and allow normal life to resume,” Bloomberg said.
So far, there hasn’t been enough research to conclude why symptoms appear to reappear in some people, and whether they experience reinfection or if the virus persists for weeks, he said.
Increasing hunger in SA
Growing hunger, hardship and economic decline underscore the need for South Africa to lift the current blockade, says the Institute for Race Relations (IRR).
“The catastrophic consequences are still looming for millions of South Africans, who could still lose their jobs and homes, drain their savings and go bankrupt under mountains of debt.
“With the formal economy still operating at a fraction of its normal capacity, tens of thousands of small and micro businesses could also collapse in no time. Many would have little or no chance of returning, ”said TIR’s director of policy research, Dr. Anthea Jeffery.
The longer the shutdown remains, the more people will be pushed into poverty, Jeffery said.
Jeffery noted that estimates of the economic cost of the current blockade range from R13 billion to R20 billion per day.
“The shutdown cannot and does not work in populated towns and informal settlements, where homes are grouped together, many structures house families of four or more, and shared community faucets and toilets among hundreds of residents,” said Jeffery.
The IRR recommends removing the blockade with immediate effect within the parameters of three basic principles:
- Allow all companies to return to work, while bearing the burden of protecting their staff, customers and suppliers from the virus as reasonably possible;
- Maintain social distance for many months and, if necessary, self-isolation or quarantine for those most vulnerable to the virus; and
- Keeping children out of school until September, as allowing their early return runs the risk of undoing any gains the blockade has brought.
Read: New Road and Transport Rules for South Africa During Level 4 Blockade
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