Most of the Covid-19 patients are recovering well, says Mkhize

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says most patients who have tested positive for Covid-19 are recovering.

He said in a statement: “We are in the process of conducting further confirmation tests and medical examinations then we [will] formally inform the public on the number of recoveries. At this stage, most of the patients are recovering well.”

ALSO WATCH: Patient zero ready to be discharged, confirms Zikalala

During a question-and-answer session with doctors in Pretoria on Thursday, Mkhize echoed statistics that have now become commonly expressed globally, including by German chancellor Angela Merkel, who earlier this month predicted that as much as 70% of German citizens would contract Covid-19, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

Mkhize told the doctors that 60% to 70% of South Africa are likely to contract the virus, though hopefully over a more extended period of time than if containment measures were not in place.

“60% to 70% of the communities will be affected by this virus,” he said. “So I said to the religious leaders that most of us will get this virus.”

He was referring to his meeting earlier in the day with the heads of major churches in South Africa.

Mkhize also repeated the statistic that only about 20% of these cases would be serious enough to require treatment. The fatality rate is between 2% and 3.5%.

He predicted a jump to more than 200 confirmed cases by Friday morning and South Africa will be able to radically increase its testing capacity soon.

On Friday morning, South Africa was standing at 150 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with the provincial breakdown below:

Gauteng: 15

• A 41-year-old female who had travelled to DRC.
• A 43-year-old female who had travelled to the UK.
• A 54-year-old female who had travelled to the UK.
• A 58-year-old male who had travelled to the UK.
• A 38-year-old male who had travelled to France.
• A 70-year-old female who had travelled to the USA.
• A 30-year-old male who had travelled to Spain.
• A 45-year-old male who had travelled to DRC.
• An 85-year old male who had travelled to Switzerland.
• A 64-year-old male who had travelled to Vietnam and Thailand.
• A 41-year-old male who had travelled to the Netherlands.
• A 37-year-old female with no international travel history.
• A 23-year-old male with no contact details on lab form, information being obtained from the private doctor.
• A five-year-old female with no contact details on lab form, information being obtained from the private doctor.
• A 44-year-old male with no contact details on lab form, information being obtained from the private doctor.

KwaZulu-Natal: 3

• A 71-year-old female who had travelled to the UK.
• A 26-year-old male who had travelled to Mexico and USA.
• A 29-year-old female with no contact details on lab form, information being obtained from private doctor.

Mpumalanga: 1

• A 56-year-old female who had travelled to France.

Western Cape: 15

• A 53-year-old female who had travelled to the UK.
• A 30-year-old male who had travelled to the Netherlands and Qatar.
• A 45-year-old male who had travelled to Mexico.
• A 70-year-old female who had travelled to the USA.
• A 25-year-old female who travelled to the UK.
• A 37-year-old female who travelled to the UK.
• A 43-year-old female who travelled to the USA.
• A 31-year-old male who travelled to Spain and the Netherlands.
• A 53-year-old female who travelled to Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic and Germany.
• A 22-year-old female who travelled to the UK.
• A 63-year-old male who travelled to Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic and Germany.
• A 22-year-old female who travelled to Spain and the Netherlands.
• A 32-year-old male who travelled to the USA.
• A 37-year-old male with no contact details on the lab form.
• A 53-year-old male with no international travel history.

(Additional reporting, Charles Cilliers)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.