Dozens of new coronavirus fatalities as death toll hits 1,737

The health ministry on Thursday placed the SA's coronavirus death toll at 1,737, adding that 63 more deaths had been reported in the last 24 hours.  

The bulk of the fatalities again came from the Western Cape, which recorded 57 casualties.

The remaining six were from the Eastern Cape province.

“We wish to express our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the health care workers who treated the deceased,” said health minister Zweli Mkhize in a statement.

“The mortality rate is 2.1%. The number of recoveries is 44,920, which translates to a recovery rate of 53.5%.”

The department put the total number of coronavirus infections at 83,890. This was 3,478 more than on Wednesday.

The Western Cape continues to lead with the highest number of infections.

The provincial breakdown is as follows:

• Western Cape – 47,522
• Gauteng – 15,898
• Eastern Cape – 12,639
• KwaZulu-Natal – 4,360
• North West – 1,606
• Free State – 649
• Limpopo – 489
• Mpumalanga – 461
• Northern Cape – 214

The health ministry said 52 cases had not yet been provincially allocated.