The COVID-19 has taken the lives of 282 more patients, bringing the total number of deaths to 12 264.
Of the 282 deaths, 66 were from Eastern Cape, 89 from Gauteng, 57 from KwaZulu-Natal, 3 from Northern Cape, 34 from Western Cape and 20 from North West and 13 from Free State.
In a statement released on Tuesday August 18, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize also said 2 258 people have tested positive for the disease in the last 24 hours, increasing the total national number of infections from 589 886 to 592 144.
The Tuesday infection number was recorded from 14 677 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests conducted so far from 3 415 670 to 3430 347.
Of the 592 144 infections, 485 468 patients have recovered from the deadly disease, shooting the recovery rate to 82 percent.
