Covid-19 cases in SA now exceed 900
There are now more than 900 cases of Covid-19 in SA, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday, hours before the country went into a national lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.
There are now more than 900 cases of Covid-19 in SA, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday, hours before the country goes into a national lockdown to curb the spread of the disease.
“We now have more than 900 people who are [infected] as the minister told me, and we fear it might rise much further than that,” Ramaphosa said during an update after a meeting with the AU bureau, which held a teleconference to co-ordinate the continent’s approach to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday the number of reported cases stood at 709. He did not provide details, but a statement issued a short while later by health minister Zweli Mkhize put the number at 927, an increase of 218 on the day before.
Gauteng remains the province that is the hardest-hit, with 409 cases, followed by Western Cape (229), KwaZulu-Natal (134) and Free State (49). The number of cases in the other provinces remains in single digits, though 79 cases are unallocated.
Mpumalanga has nine cases, Limpopo six, North West and Eastern Cape each have five cases, and two cases have been reported in Northern Cape.
SA is entering a 21-day national lockdown at midnight on Thursday, which is intended to curb local transmission of the novel coronavirus.
Later on Thursday Ramaphosa addressed the police and the SA National Defence Force, which will be patrolling the streets and ensuring that citizens adhere to the lockdown regulations.
THE POLICE AND THE DEFENCE FORCE WILL BE PATROLLING THE STREETS AND ENSURING THAT CITIZENS ADHERE TO LOCKDOWN RULES