Every province hit as SA's confirmed Covid-19 cases move past 400

23 March 2020 - 14:01 By Zingisa Mvumvu
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The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in South Africa has risen to 402.

Of the cases, 207 are in Gauteng. The Western Cape has the second most cases, with 100 — making them the two coronavirus hotspots in SA. KZN — where the first cases were reported — has 60 cases.

This is according to health minister Zweli Mkhize on Monday afternoon.

The virus has now spread to all nine provinces, he announced.

“Fellow South Africans, as of today, South Africa has 402 confirmed cases of Covid-19,” said Mkhize. “This means there has been an increase of 128 from [Sunday's] announcement.” 

According to the age profile of the confirmed cases, the age group hardest hit is aged 31- 40, with 69 confirmed cases — followed by those aged 51-60, with 63 cases.

The least affected are those older than 81, with just a single case confirmed so far.

The rural Northern Cape and Eastern Cape have recorded the fewest confirmed cases at two apiece.

The North West, which, together with Northern Cape, had no cases by Sunday night's announcement, now has four confirmed cases.

Mkhize said further details will be provided by President Cyril Ramaphosa when he addresses the nation on Monday evening.

“We will thereafter engage the public to give further details and explanations on the results including the significant rise, the ongoing testing processes, each province’s progress on contact tracing efforts.

“Our priority is for provinces to be alerted of the new confirmed cases so that immediate contact can be made with the these new patients and ensure that contact tracing starts,” he added.


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