Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced last night that South Africa has 1,170 confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus cases. This was a daily increase of 243 new cases.

Mkhize also announced that South Africa recorded its first death, which had occurred as a result of COVID-19.

The first patient was a 48-year-old female who tested positive for COVID-19 on 23 March 2020. She was suffering from a pulmonary embolism – an underlying disease.

The Health Minister clarified that the second death, which was initially thought to be a result of COVID-19, was a false positive.

This therefore means there is only one confirmed death caused by COVID-19 in South Africa.

There are currently 55 COVID-19 patients in hospitals around the country. Four of these patients are in intensive care units (ICU) and three of them are on ventilators.

Mkhize warned that the number people with underlying concomitant diseases who are getting infected is increasing.

“We therefore urge our citizens to be vigilant, protect themselves and not unnecessarily expose themselves by making contact with a lot of people,” he said.

“It is important to remain in your home, create a distance between yourself and anyone, including family members, that are unwell.”

Big increase in recoveries

Despite the huge challenge related to the coronavirus outbreak in South Africa, the health minister did share some encouraging news.

The total number of COVID-19 recoveries in SA is now 31. This is up from only four recoveries the day before.

Further good news is that South Africa is rapidly increasing the number of people who are being tested for the coronavirus.

Over the last day, 8,066 people were tested – the highest daily number of tests conducted in South Africa.

The graphs below show important figures related to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in South Africa.

Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Africa (lower is better)

Total number of coronavirus recoveries in South Africa (higher is better)

Total number of coronavirus tests in South Africa (higher is better)

Number of new confirmed coronavirus cases in South Africa (lower is better)