Covid-19 deaths at 15,772 in SA, experts issue warning as virus 'serious' again in Europe

18 September 2020 - 07:04 By TimesLIVE
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Elbow bump greetings have become the new office handshake as SA returns to work.
Elbow bump greetings have become the new office handshake as SA returns to work.
Image: 123RF/seventyfour74

Health minister Zweli Mkhize said on Thursday evening that 15,772 people had succumbed to Covid-19 related illness in SA.

There were 67 deaths in the past 24 hours.

The cumulative number of detected infections in the country is now 655,572 with 585,303 recoveries.

While infections have declined in SA after months of lockdown and the country prepares to embrace level 1 of the restrictions, cases in Europe have been rising again rapidly.

World Health Organisation (WHO) European director Dr Hans Kluge warned at a press briefing on Thursday that Europe was facing a “very serious” situation, reported the Independent.

“We have a very serious situation unfolding before us. Weekly cases have now exceeded those reported when the pandemic first peaked in Europe in March,” he was quoted as saying.

Global coronavirus cases exceeded 30 million on Thursday, according to a tally by Reuters which reported that the pandemic did not show signs of slowing down.

You can track the spread of the novel coronavirus across the globe on a map by Reuters.

TimesLIVE


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