South Africa’s Covid-19 cases rise to 7808, death toll now at 153
By Sihle Mlambo
South Africa now has over 7800 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus and 5 more deaths, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced on Wednesday night.
Mkhize said there were 236 new infections, taking the total cases to 7808, while there were also 5 more deaths, taking the death toll to 153.
The minister said two of the deceased were from the Western Cape, two from KZN and one from Limpopo.
He sent his condolences to the families.
The country is currently in Day 41 of its national lockdown, which was instituted to curb the spread of the virus.
Last Friday, South Africa eased into level 4 of the national lockdown and allowed just over one million workers to return to work, after instituting the strict level 5 lockdown for 35 days.
In easing into level 4 of the lockdown, the wearing of cloth masks became compulsory for all who were in public. Shops are refusing to serve those who do not cover their faces.
On the last week of the level 5 lockdown, South Africa saw 1 694 new infections between April 24 and April 30.
In the same period, there were 24 Covid-19 related deaths.
And as the country entered into the level 4 lockdown, the cases have not slowed, with 2161 cases and 50 deaths recorded in just 6 days between May 1 and May 6.
Mkhize said 279 000 people had now been tested for the virus, with the last 11 000 tests conducted over the last 24 hours.
LATEST BREAKDOWN
| New Deaths | New Cases | Total Cases | Total Deaths | |
| South Africa | 5 | 236 | 7808 | 153 |
| Western Cape | 2 | 151 | 3760 | 73 |
| Gauteng | 0 | 23 | 1720 | 15 |
| KZN | 2 | 47 | 1189 | 38 |
| Eastern Cape | 0 | 11 | 849 | 18 |
| Free State | 0 | 2 | 130 | 6 |
| Mpumalanga | 0 | 0 | 57 | 0 |
| Limpopo | 1 | 0 | 40 | 3 |
| North West | 0 | 1 | 37 | 0 |
| Northern Cape | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
Meanwhile, the Presidency confirmed earlier on Wednesday that an official had tested positive for Covid-19. The official had been reporting for work at the Union Buildings during the lockdown as he was deemed to be providing an essential service.
Presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko said the official had not been in contact with President Cyril Ramaphosa and Deputy President David Mabuza, as both had been working from home since the start of the lockdown.
The Presidency said it was taking steps to secure treatment for staff members who may have come in contact with the infected official and said they would be providing the necessary support to the family.
“Steps have also been taken to ensure that officials who have contact with the staff member are screened.
“The Presidency’s Pandemic Task Team, established to assist in managing all Covid-19-related matters, proactively initiated a process of disinfection and deep-cleaning of all the Presidency facilities. This process commenced on Tuesday, 28 April 2020.
“Access to the Union Buildings is therefore limited to exceptional interactions,” said Diko. IOL
