THE COVID-19 infections are just less than 7000 shy from reaching the half a million mark.
This after 11014 more people tested positive for the disease in the last 24 hours, increasing the total infection figure from 482 169 to 493 183.
The new infections were recorded from 41 486 tests conducted in the last 24 hours cycle. This brought the total number of tests conducted since the outbreak of the dreaded disease from 2 918 049 to 2 959 535, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said in a statement on Friday July 31.
Mkhize also said 193 more COVID-19 patients have lost their battle to the deadly disease, ballooning the death toll from 7 812 to 8005.
Of the 193 deaths, eight were recorded in the Eastern Cape, 103 in Gauteng, 36 in KwaZulu-Natal, 33 in the Western Cape and 13 in Mpumalanga.
“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the health care workers who treated the deceased,” he said.
He said of the 493 183 infections, 326 171 patients have recovered from the disease, increasing the recovery rate in the last 24 hours from 64 to 66 percent.
