COVID-19 WRAP | Almost 11,000 new coronavirus cases recorded in SA

December 19 2020 - 20:56

Almost 11,000 new coronavirus cases in SA

10,939 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in SA in the past 24 hours. 

This brings the cumulative number of cases in SA to 912,477.

There have also been 254 more Covid-19 related deaths. There are now 24,539 confirmed deaths in SA.

December 19 2020 - 17:10

Records tumble on grimmest day yet for Covid-19 in Western Cape

Highest number of daily infections and deaths and a new record for active infections.

Those are Saturday's grim Covid-19 milestones in the Western Cape.

The 4,602 new confirmed infections reported on the provincial Covid-19 dashboard exceeded the previous high — 2,660, on June 15 — by 73%,

The 100 deaths reported on Saturday exceeded the previous high of 76 on June 15 by 32%.

December 19 2020 - 16:36

Got questions about the new Covid-19 variant? Health department has the answers

The department of health issued a lengthy list of questions and answers on Saturday after announcing that the virus that causes Covid-19 has evolved into a new variant.

The answers show there are several gaps in scientists' knowledge about the new variant, including whether vaccines that have already been rolled out in parts of the world will prevent people being infected by it.

December 19 2020 - 09:40

More than 116,000 people admitted to SA hospitals with Covid-19 since March

The National Institute For Communicable Diseases (NICD) revealed on Saturday that 116,325 people were admitted to hospitals in the country after testing positive for Covid-19 between March 5 2020 and December 12 2020.

It also said 20,242 Covid-19 deaths were recorded in the same period from 618 health facilities across the country.

December 19 2020 - 09:25

Fire in hospital kills 8 people in southeast Turkey - governor

A fire in a private hospital's COVID-19 intensive care unit killed eight people, the governor's office in the southeastern Turkish province of Gaziantep said on Saturday.

The fire was caused by the explosion of an oxygen ventilator, the office said in a statement, adding that 11 other patients receiving treatment in the unit were transferred to nearby hospitals.

-REUTERS