The COVID-19 death figure has passed the 18000 mark after 165 patients lost their lives to the global pandemic, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Tuesday October 13.
As of today the death toll stands as at 18 028.
Of the 165 deaths, 31 were recorded in the Eastern Cape, 28 in the Free State, 50 in KwaZulu-Natal ,31 in Gauteng, five in Limpopo, four in Mpumalanga, five in the Northern Cape, and 11 from the Western Cape. Mkhize said of the new recorded deaths, 18 occurred in the past 24-48 hours; 3 in the Eastern Cape, one in Mpumalanga, two in Gauteng, two in the Northern Cape, and 10 in the Western Cape.
Mkhize also said that as of today the cumulative number of detected COVID-19 cases is 694 537 after 1178 people contracted the respiratory disease since the last reported stats.
He also said 15 534 new tests were conducted since the last report , bringing the total number of tests to 625 574. Mkhize also said the country ‘s recovery rate remained unchanged at 90 percent after 625 574 beat the disease.
