SA’s Covid-19 death toll nears 5 000, confirmed cases now 324 221 | News24

Health workers at a quarantine site in Pietermaritzburg.

• As of 16 July, South Africa has a total of 324 221 confirmed Covid-19 cases.
• Gauteng has recorded 117 895 cases, which translates to 36.4% of the total cases in the country. 
• As of Thursday, 216 new Covid-19 related deaths have been recorded, taking the death toll to 4 669.

Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize says there have been 13 172 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours to take South Africa’s confirmed infections to a total of 324 221.

Mkhize also said the country had recorded an additional 216 deaths, with the death toll now nearing the 5 000 mark. As of Thursday, SA’s Covid-19 fatalities stand at 4 669.

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Gauteng continues to be the worst affected province in terms of infections, recording an additional 5 181 confirmed cases of the virus in the last 24 hours.

On Monday, Gauteng exceeded the 100 000 mark – and, by Thursday, the province recorded a total of 117 895 cases, which translates to 36.4% of the total confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country.

Mkhize recently said the infection surge was upon the country, and Gauteng in particular.

He added the peak would be experienced from July to early September.

A total of 61 cases were labelled as “unknown”.

Reported deaths

Of the 216 new Covid-19 deaths, Mkhize said 86 were recorded in Gauteng, 47 in the Western Cape, 41 in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape 25, Free State 10, and seven in Mpumalanga.

“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased,” Mkhize said.

To date, 165 591 recoveries have been recorded, translating to a 51% recovery rate.

Testing data

To date, 2 324 923 Covid-19 tests have been conducted across the country, of which 46 796 were conducted in the last 24 hours.