covid 19 coronavirus confirmed cases south africa

A Gautrain security official is seen standing at the door of the train at the Hatfield Station in Pretoria on May 4, 2020. – The Gautrain reopened for commuters on May 4, 2020 with health and safety measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Phill Magakoe / AFP)

COVID-19 latest: Confirmed cases increase by 1 466 with 25 more deaths

The Health Ministry announced that the number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa had risen to 27 403; an increase of 1 466 since Wednesday 27 May.

covid 19 coronavirus confirmed cases south africa

A Gautrain security official is seen standing at the door of the train at the Hatfield Station in Pretoria on May 4, 2020. – The Gautrain reopened for commuters on May 4, 2020 with health and safety measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Phill Magakoe / AFP)

South Africa is currently waiting to advance to level three of the national lockdown on 1 June 2020, with caveats in place for hot-spot areas to lower the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Experts say that South Africa’s COVID-19 caseload will increase exponentially, and several hot-spot areas have been identified, including Tshwane, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, the West Rand and others.

According to Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, hot-spot areas “will experience more stringent measures, and there will be limitations on movement – if we have to put harder rules in place for these hot-spots”. 

COVID-19 update: South Africa, Thursday 28 May 2020

The Health Ministry announced that the number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa had risen to 27 403; an increase of 1 466 since Wednesday 27 May.

Deaths also increased by 25, standing at a total of 577. A total of 14 370 people have recovered from the virus. Health Minister Zweli Mhize said that regrettably, one of the reported deaths is that of a National Laboratory Services (NHLS) employee. He added:

“We also take this opportunity to encourage other NHLS employees. We understand that this tragedy will certainly test you. But we wish to assure you of our commitment to continue taking the necessary measures to protect you while you perform your duties by providing the PPE required and ensuring that you workplace protocols observe all the safety measures to mitigate the risk of our front line employees getting infected.”

Breakdown of new confirmed COVID-19 cases

New cases, deaths and recoveries by province

The confirmed COVID-19 cases per province is as follows:

ProvinceTotal CasesNew CasesTotal DeathsTotal Recoveries
Gauteng3 329162311 993
Western Cape17 7548614069 157
KwaZulu Natal2 349163501 180
Free State22548123
Eastern Cape3 306259771 700
Limpopo1443375
Mpumalanga1115067
North West1346145
Northern Cape513130

Tests and screening

As of today:

  • A total of 655 723 tests have been conducted, of which 20 727 were done in the last 24 hours.
  • The total number of tests conducted in the private sector stands at 322 279, of which12289 were done in the last 24 hours.
  • In addition, 333 444 tests were conducted in the public sector, with 8 438 being done within the last 24 hours.

Global statistics

Confirmed global cases stand at 5 854 923 and 359 902 deaths. More than 2 540 019 people have recovered from the virus, which was declared as a worldwide pandemic in January 2020.

The USA currently has the most cases – 1 757 116 confirmed cases and 102 793 confirmed deaths; a total of 494 722 citizens have recovered. Out of the 1 159 601 active cases, 17 182 are critical.

Brazil is now the second most-affected country after overtaking Russia, with 418 608 confirmed cases and 25 935 deaths. While 150 993 patients have recovered, about 2 300 of the 223 916 active cases are critical.