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Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has announced that the country has registered 1,218 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases to 628,259.
The country has also recorded 114 more deaths from Covid-19: 13 from KwaZulu-Natal, 39 from Gauteng, 7 from the Eastern Cape, 7 from the Free State, 20 from the Western Cape, 18 from the Northwest and 10 from Mpumalanga.
The total number of deaths is 14,263.
“We extend our condolences to the loved ones of the deceased and we thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased patients. Our recoveries now stand at 549,993, which translates to a recovery rate of 87%, ”said Mkhize.
Source: Department of Health.
The Department of Health is launching a powerful new mobile app, COVID Alert SA, to strengthen South Africa’s digital contact tracing efforts.
To date, the Department has deployed teams to conduct manual contact tracing in all districts. Subsequently, the WhatsApp-based COVIDConnect service was launched which allows index cases to anonymously notify their contacts as requested by the system.
The COVID Alert SA application will complement and strengthen these existing methods, as a tool to allow instant notification of contacts after a positive test.
COVID Alert SA is based on the exposure notification application programming interface (API) developed by Apple and Google to enable contact tracing via mobile phones. The app fully preserves privacy, in accordance with API requirements, and does not collect any personally identifiable information or track a user’s location, the department said in a statement.
Using Bluetooth, the COVID Alert SA application emits a randomly generated code that is chosen by other users when two phones get close to each other. This unique identifier changes frequently and cannot be linked to the identity of any user. Over time, each user creates an “encounter history” of those with whom they have been in contact.
When a user tests positive, they are asked to report their diagnosis anonymously in the COVID SA alert application. When the user does so, all other users with whom they have been in contact during the last 14 days will be immediately notified of their exposure and will be indicated through the service channel. At no point in this process is the identity of any user revealed.
Bluetooth-enabled contact tracing applications allow more contacts to be traced faster, including strangers whom an index case may not be able to remember or identify. The app is rated zero to facilitate optimal citizen adoption.
Says Director General of Health, Dr. Sandile Buthelezi: “Global experience has shown the risk of a resurgence once restrictions on social and economic activity are lifted. While the trajectory of the epidemic in South Africa has stabilized, that resurgence remains a real and present danger in our own country.
“COVID Alert SA provides us with additional weaponry to achieve virus suppression and prevent outbreaks from reoccurring by eliminating time-consuming steps to achieve manual contact tracing. This technology allows us to effectively break the chain of transmission by dramatically reducing the time between exposure and knowing that one has been exposed, so that you can take action by self-quarantining and testing when necessary. “
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