Two SA ministers in hospital with coronavirus

Two members of the South African cabinet have been admitted to hospital with COVID-19, the presidency said on Tuesday.

Thembelani Nxesi, the minister for employment and labour, and Gwede Mantashe, the minister for mineral resources, were taken to hospital on Monday. Both men had been self-isolating after testing positive for the novel coronavirus around a week ago.

“We wish both minister Nxesi and minister Mantashe well and a speedy recovery,” the presidency said in a statement, adding that being in hospital would give them access to better medical attention and monitoring.

Africa’s most industrialised economy now has one of the highest rates of infection of the novel coronavirus in the world, with 372,628 confirmed cases and 5,173 deaths.