A resident of the Olievenhoutbosch township in Centurion, wearing a furry scarf as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, queue on 2 May 2020 during a food distribution organised by the South African non profit charity Mahlasedi Foundation. Photo: AFP/MARCO LONGARI
COVID-19 latest: Confirmed cases in SA at 6 336, deaths at 123
Dr Zweli Mkhize confirmed that South Africa’s COVID-19 infections continue to rise. The disease is currently in 212 countries worldwide.
A resident of the Olievenhoutbosch township in Centurion, wearing a furry scarf as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, queue on 2 May 2020 during a food distribution organised by the South African non profit charity Mahlasedi Foundation. Photo: AFP/MARCO LONGARI
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa spiked by 385. On the second day of level 4 lockdown restrictions, the Health Ministry of South Africa provided the following update.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa on 2 May
Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize said in a media statement that coronavirus infections increased from 5 951 on 1 May 2020 to 6 336 on Saturday. According to the minister, 2 549 patients have recovered.
In addition, the death toll increased by seven. As of today, 123 COVID-19-related deaths have been recorded, with the new cases from the Western Cape and the Free State.
Breakdown by province in South Africa on 2 May
At the time of publishing, the Western Cape still has the most confirmed cases with a total of 2 700, followed by Gauteng with 1 598 cases, KwaZulu-Natal with 1 051 and Eastern Cape with 732.
In addition, 121 cases have been confirmed for the Free State, along with 36 confirmed cases in Limpopo, 40 cases in Mpumalanga, 23 cases in the Northern Cape and 35 cases in North West. Minister Mkhize says:
“We have looked at the data for patients who have been hospitalised and found that, consistent with the evidence emerging worldwide, hypertension, diabetes and cardiac disease are the three most common co-morbidities associated with serious illness from COVID-19.”
Dr Zwelini Mkhize, Minister of Health.
Recoveries per province as at 29 April
- Eastern Cape: 275
- Free State: 96
- Gauteng: 948
- KwaZulu Natal: 375
- Limpopo: 25
- Mpumalanga: 18
- North West: 20
- Northern Cape: 13
- Western Cape 779
COVID-19 tests and screening in South Africa
As of today, a total of 230 686 tests have been conducted, of which 13 164 were done in the last 24 hours. This is the most test done in a 24-hour period in South Africa since the breakout.
Global COVID-19 Statistics
On Saturday 2 May, global cases stand at 3 427 406; and 240 519 deaths. More than 1 094 117 people have recovered from the virus since the first cases were recorded in Wuhan, China, five months ago.
The WHO predicts that the length of the pandemic will likely be another two years as approximately 60% to 70% of the population has to reach a critical threshold of herd immunity to halt the pandemic.
This may be complicated by the fact that we don’t yet know the duration of immunity to natural SARS-CoV-2 infection. Based on seasonal coronaviruses, we can anticipate that even if immunity declines after exposure, there may still be some protection against disease severity and reduced contagiousness, but this remains to be assessed for SARS-CoV-2.
