President Cyril Ramaphosa received by Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Ms Lindiwe Sisulu, upon his arrival at the Rand Water Head Office in Johannesburg for his visit to the Water and Sanitation Covid-19 Command Centre, 7 April 2020. The Ministry of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation has been tasked with a responsibility of ensuring that there is water for all communities in order to flatten the curve and to stop the spread of the virus. Picture: GCIS
In a statement on Tuesday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa was at 2,415.
The total number of tests conducted to date was 87,022, he added.
The jump of 143 since Monday evening may be bad news for those hoping for an early easing of the lockdown, since the department is only likely to recommend a relaxation of the lockdown if the average jump stays at less than 90 a day up until 16 April.
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Yesterday there were 27 deaths, with no further updates on Tuesday of this figure.
Prof Salim Abdool Karim said in a presentation on Monday that the R0 rate – the basic reproduction number of an infectious disease – needed to be kept below one, meaning the disease was not spreading at an out-of control rate.
A decision could then be considered to ease the current lockdown, which is one of the most stringent in the world.
He said that this meant that the average number of people getting the disease every day between 10 and 16 April would need to be less than 90.
The coronavirus is known to normally have a global R0 of between two and three.
The latest provincial breakdown were as follows:
Dept of health
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