The spread of coronavirus across South Africa continues on Sunday evening, after health minister Zweli Mkhize confirmed there had been an increase of both cases and deaths in the past 24 hours.
Confirmed coronavirus cases in South Africa on 19 April
As of Sunday 19 April, 54 coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded in South Africa, and 3 158 cases have been registered. The minister added that 114 711 tests have been conducted.
Deaths are up by two on Sunday, and cases have risen by 124 over the past 24 hours.
As at today the number of confirmed #COVID_19 cases is 3158 and the death toll is now 54. pic.twitter.com/1FEV4h24D8
— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) April 19, 2020
Breakdown by province in South Africa on 19 April
At the time of publishing, Gauteng still has the most confirmed cases with a total of 1 148, followed by the Western Cape with 868, KwaZulu-Natal with 617 and Eastern Cape with 219.
Testing, testing: Fighting the deadly disease
More than 1 000 deaths have been recorded across Africa, according to a recent AFP tally. Africa is poorly equipped to manage a major health crisis and is struggling to test enough to monitor virus cases. However, there is some positive news regarding South Africa’s testing efforts:
However, health officials in South Africa have been buoyed by what they’ve seen this weekend. Daily testing rates have shot up at a rapid rate, and almost one million citizens have been screened for the illness. SA is also set to receive a total of 30 000 cartridges for their geneXpert machines, ramping up our ability to detect the deadly disease.
#listentotheexpertHow is the GeneXpert being used to test for the coronavirus?Professor Koleka Mlisana, chairperson of the Covid-19 MAC laboratory testing committee, tells us more. pic.twitter.com/bXZtN0vjIz
— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) April 18, 2020
Furthermore, the United Nations, in collaboration with the WHO and the World Food Programme, is sending thousands of PPE and medical supplies to Africa to combat the spread of COVID-19. Read more here.
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Source: The South African Read More
