Five months in, Covid-19 cases in SA now sit at 538,184

On March 5, the first Covid-19 case was recorded in SA. Just five months later, the total number of cases in the country has soared dramatically to 538,184.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced on Thursday that 8,307 new Covid-19 infections had been reported in the past 24 hours.

He also announced 306 new deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities to 9,604.

The monthly breakdown of cases and deaths since that first infection shows just how drastic the spike has been:

• month 1: 1,655 total cases, 11 deaths;
• month 2: 5,917 cases, 137 deaths;
• month 3: 35,862 cases, 760 deaths;
• month 4: 153,316 cases, 2,291 deaths; and
• month 5: 384,868 cases, 7.313 deaths.

Of the new deaths, 66 were in the Eastern Cape, 75 in Gauteng, 78 in KwaZulu-Natal, 46 in the Western Cape, 23 in the Free State and 18 in the Northern Cape.

Mkhize also on Thursday reported 387,316 recoveries, a recovery rate of 72%.

The figures are based on 3,149,807 total tests, of which 36,616 were done in the past 24-hour cycle.

TimesLIVE