Seventy-three more people have died from COVID-19 in South Africa, according to the new figures from the Health Department.
Of the new fatalities, 32 are from the Eastern Cape, 23 from Free State, 11 from the Western Cape and seven from Gauteng.
According to the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, 15 lost their lives in the last 48 hours, which brings the death toll to 20 314.
Meanwhile, 1 245 new cases have been registered in the last 24 hours, down from 1 842 on Sunday, pushing the number of detected COVID-19 cases to 752 269.
The Eastern Cape has the highest number of active actives at 8 607, followed by Free State 8 540, Western Cape 5 884, KwaZulu-Natal 5 174 and Northern Cape 3 711.
Gauteng has 2 004 active cases, North West 1 724, Mpumalanga 429 and Limpopo 386.
“Our recoveries now stand at 695 496, which translates to a recovery rate of 92.5%,” said Mkhize.
The information is based on the 5 142 947 tests performed since the outbreak, of which 12 755 were done since the last report.
Speaking during an interview on 702, Mkhize warned that there is going to be a lot of complacency going into the festive season.
“Right now, our biggest concern is the festive season. People want to go out and enjoy themselves without adhering to containment measures.”
He sent a strong message that the country is not out of the woods yet, as government works around the clock to avoid resurgence.
He once again told the people that the major weapon against the deadly virus is the ability to prevent the spread and cluster outbreaks.
“Therefore, washing of hands, use of sanitisers and social distancing become very important.
“For now, we have no vaccine. So we need to adhere to containment measures.”
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 54 301 156 people contracted Coronavirus since the outbreak, while 1 316 994 deaths have been recorded globally. – SAnews.gov.za
