The Department of Health on Friday announced that 113 more people had succumbed to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic – taking the total tally of fatalities to 15 378.
However, the country continues to register high rate of recoveries with the latest data indicating that 574 587 people had recovered from the virus – translating to a recovery rate of 88.9%.
South Africa, which is the epicenter of the virus on the continent currently has 56 433 active COVID-19 cases with Gauteng followed by Free State having the most active cases. The country has recorded 646 398 cumulative COVID-19 cases, making South Africa the eighth hardest hit country in the world.
The rate of new cases and deaths has slowed down dramatically compared to the same period last month.
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize in an interview with Radio Islam on Wednesday said that his department was initially worried about a possible surge in cases when moving to a level 2 lockdown, but early data shows there has not been a major upsurge in cases.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the World Health Organisation, in a statement said since the beginning of the pandemic, accelerating the development of and equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics for COVID-19 has been a priority for the organisation.
“And around 180 vaccines are now in development, including 35 that are in human trials. No disease in history has seen such rapid development in research. It is a testament to the incredible advances in science and technology the world has made in recent years,” he said.
