The Free State has its first confirmed cases of Covid-19.
This means that there are now confirmed cases in six of the nine provinces: Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the Free State.
At this stage it is unclear exactly how many cases have been reported in the Free State.
In a statement on Thursday evening, the health ministry said: “We also wish to advise South Africans that the Free State province now has its first confirmed cases. The patients are being informed as we speak, some have already been taken into quarantine by the provincial government.
“We will fully disclose the numbers of these cases tomorrow, once all the patients are aware,” said health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize.
TimesLIVE earlier reported that hospital group Mediclinic had confirmed that one person who had reported to its Bloemfontein facility had tested positive for the virus.