Thirty-seven more COVID-19 patients have lost their lives to the pandemic, bringing the total national number of fatalities from 755 to 792.
This was announced by Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize on Wednesday, June 3.
“Regrettably, we report 37 more COVID-19 related deaths,” he said.
Mkhize said of the 37 deaths, seven were recorded in the Eastern Cape, one in KwaZulu-Natal, and 29 in the Western Cape.
He also said the number of confirmed COVID-19 infections has increased by 1713, ballooning the total national number from 35 812 to 37 525.
Mkhize said he noted that the same pattern which drove up the infection numbers in the Western Cape, which is the epicentre of the pandemic, was building up in the Eastern Cape.
“The provinces now consist of 78% of all the positive cases. Additional attention is being directed to the Eastern Cape to ensure the province can adequately respond to limit escalation of infection,” he said.
He also said the number of people who recovered from the coronavirus induced disease has increased by 1369, bringing the total national number from 18 313 on Tuesday to 19 682.
Mkhize said a total of 785 979 tests have been processed cumulatively of which 24 445 tests have been conducted since the last report.
