SA records 69 new Covid-19 related deaths

The country's confirmed Covid-19 cases rose to 65,736 on Saturday evening, with 69 new Covid-19 related deaths.

This brought to 1,423 the total number of deaths as a result of the disease, with a mortality rate of 2.2%, the department of health said in a statement.

Thirty-six of the fatalities were from the Western Cape, 24 from Gauteng and nine from the Eastern Cape.

Of the 1,423 new cases, 1,071 were in the Western Cape, followed by the Eastern Cape with 217 new cases.

Gauteng now has 81 fatalities and 3,075 recoveries with a total of 9,897 cases, equating to 15% of the national total.

The Western Cape has nearly 62% of the national cases and the Eastern Cape 14%. 

The department said 1,087,887 tests have been conducted cumulatively since testing for Covid-19 began earlier this year.

The department said the recoveries to date are 35,850. It said this translated to a recovery rate of 56%.