Gauteng remains provincial hotspot, as SA’s total cases rise by 3,880

Gauteng remained the provincial hotspot for the coronavirus, with 202,955 people having tested positive since March and 83 more Covid-19-related deaths on Thursday.

On Thursday night, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said a total of 195 Covid-19 deaths had been confirmed in the past 24-hour cycle.

“About 83 [deaths] were registered in Gauteng, 36 from KwaZulu-Natal, 26 from Eastern Cape, 25 from Free State, 12 from Limpopo and 13 from Western Cape. This brings the total Covid-19 related cumulative deaths to 12,618.

“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased. The recoveries now stand at 497,169 which translates to a recovery rate of 82%,” Mkhize said.

The national number of confirmed new Covid-19 cases increased by 3,880 on Thursday, taking the cumulative total to 599,940.

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Gauteng was almost double that of the province with the second-most cases, KwaZulu-Natal, which had seen 108,080 people testing positive.

The Western Cape, which was for many weeks South Africa’s provincial hotspot, had a total of 103,616 cases.

The Northern Cape remained the province with the least number of cases, with 8,575 positive cases confirmed.

While Gauteng saw the largest increase in deaths on Thursday, the Western Cape’s cumulative total of 3,688 deaths remained the highest among the nine provinces.

A total of 12,618 people have died across the country since South Africa’s first Covid-19 case was confirmed in March.

The total number of tests conducted to date was 3,480,283, with 24,612 new tests conducted since the last report.

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