The deadly COVID-19 has robbed South Africans of their loved ones again!
The disease, which is caused by the novel coronavirus, has killed 48 more patients, increasing the total national deaths from 1 162
to 1 210 with the mortality rate of 2.2 percent.
Of the new deaths, 37 were recorded in the Western Cape, 9 in the Eastern Cape , and two from KwaZulu-Natal .
This was announced by Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize on Wednesday, June 10.
Mkhize also said 2 430 more people have tested positive for the disease, shooting the confirmed number of national cases from 52 991 to 55421
Meanwhile, National Health Laboratory (NHL) told parliament on Wednesday that South Africa is currently facing a Covid-19 testing backlog of 63,224 samples – a situation caused by suppliers not being able to source the required amount of of testing kits.
The organisation said as of June 8 it had conducted 492,704 kits.
The backlog as of Wednesday stands at 63,244 unprocessed specimens, broken down by province as follows:
- 23,044 in Gauteng;
- 19,431 in the Eastern Cape;
- 17,042 in KwaZulu-Natal; and
- 3,727 in the Western Cape.
The NHL said the unprocessed specimens are those that are older than three days from the date of registration at the laboratory. A reasonable time to clear a sample through the laboratory, if all reagents (test kits) and resources are available, is 48 to 72 hours, according to a presentation tabled before the committees.
