The total national number of COVID-19 deaths has increased to 1 737 after 63 more patients lost their lives to the disease. Of the 63 deaths, 57 were recorded in the Western Cape, six in the Eastern Cape.
This was announced by Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize on Thursday, June 18.
He said the new recorded deaths have increased the mortality rate to 2.1.
Mkhize also said the number of patients who recovered from the deadly disease has increased to 44 920.
This translates to a recovery rate of 53.5 percent.
He also said the infection number has also increased to 83 890 after 3 478 were confirmed to have contracted the disease, which is caused by the novel coronavirus.
