725 new Covid-19 cases confirmed in SA as deaths approach 16,000

Just 725 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed across the country on Monday.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said in a statement that this meant there are now 661,936 total infections confirmed countrywide.

There are 54,736 active cases in the country, of which 20,017 are in Gauteng.

Mkhize also confirmed that there were 39  Covid-19 related fatalities recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the country's death toll to 15,992.

Of the new deaths, nine were in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng, one was from KwaZulu-Natal, 16 were from the North West and four from the Western Cape.

"Our recoveries now stand at 591,208 which translates to a recovery rate of 89.3%," said Mkhize.

The figures are based on 4,047,723 tests to date, of which 6,180 were done in the past 24-hour cycle.

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