“The total number that have tested positive is 1,462, and so there has been quite an increase,” he said.
On Wednesday evening, he said that the number of confirmed cases was 1,380 — meaning that there has been an increase of 82 over the last 24 hours.
He said that there has been a “restraint in the numbers”, which he put down to, among other factors, the “impact of the lockdown”, “the fact we have closed the borders” and that because “people are in their homes means there is not mixing up in large volumes”.
But he admitted that the number could rise as more people are tested.
“We need to get out and go and find more and more of the people who are positive in the community,” he said.
On Wednesday, Mkhize said that the current slower increase in the number of cases could be the “calm before a heavy and devastating storm”.