SA passes 17,000 Covid-19 related deaths, as 900 new cases recorded

05 October 2020 - 22:29
By TimesLIVE
South Africa now has more than 17,000 Covid-19 related deaths.
Image: Guillem Sartorio/AFP South Africa now has more than 17,000 Covid-19 related deaths.

SA passed another grim Covid-19 milestone, as more than 17,000 deaths have now been recorded.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced on Monday night that there were 40 Covid-19 related deaths confirmed in the past 24 hours.

"This brings the total number of Covid-19 related deaths to 17,016," said Mkhize.

Of the newly recorded deaths, 12 where in the Eastern Cape, 14 from the Free State, five each from Gauteng, and Mpumalanga and four from the Western Cape.

Mkhize also reported that there were 926 new cases of Covid-19 identified in the past 24 hours, taking the national tally to 682,215.

There have also been 615,684 recoveries recorded -  a recovery rate of 90%.

The figures are based on 4,280,340 tests to date, with 10,714 falling in the latest 24-hour cycle.