SA Covid-19 cases hit 1170 on first day of lockdown

As night fell on the first day of the nationwide 21-day lockdown to try to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in South Africa, Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu confirmed on Friday evening there was now 1170 Covid-19 cases in the country.

He was speaking during an inter-ministerial briefing by the government’s Covid-19 National Command Council in Pretoria.

Mthembu’s comments comes after Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a brief statement on Friday morning that South Africa had its first two Covid-19 related deaths and had ‘tipped” past the 1000 mark in terms of overall confirmed cases.

Mkhize was not at the evening briefing, however Mthembu clarified that only one of the deaths was confirmed as being Covid-19 related. This case involved a 48-year-old female who was in ICU, however, she passed away after her condition worsened.

Mthembu said that the second deceased was suspected of being Covid-19 related, but this is yet to be confirmed.

Read: ‘Younger Covid-19 deaths, a warning to SA’ – WCape Premier

Earlier on Friday morning, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde noted that South Africa’s first two Covid-19 deaths had occurred in the province. In addition to the death of the 48-year-old ICU patient, he said a 28-year-old female who was admitted to hospital on Thursday and received emergency healthcare, had also passed away early of Friday morning.

“The clinical picture is consistent with Covid-19 but we are awaiting the test results to confirm this,” he said.

Source: moneyweb.co.za