Deaths continue to rise in South Africa, with 680 more people who lost their lives to COVID-19 related complications on Tuesday.
Of the recent fatalities, 306 occurred in KwaZulu-Natal, while 141 were recorded in Gauteng, 95 in the Western Cape, 28 in Free State and 18 in Mpumalanga.
In addition, two provinces had single-digit deaths, of which four are from Limpopo and two from the Northern Cape, pushing the death toll to 41 797.
Eastern Cape remains the most affected region, ranking highest in terms of fatalities countrywide, with a death toll of 10 223.
The province is followed by the Western Cape with 9 996 fatalities to date, followed by Gauteng with 7 816, while KwaZulu-Natal has 7 738.
Meanwhile, the country now has a 1 423 578 Coronavirus caseload after 6 042 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus in the last 24 hours, representing a 15% positivity rate.
This is a slight increase from the 4 551 infections identified on Monday, South Africa’s fewest new COVID-19 cases since December 8.
“The cumulative total of tests conducted to date is 8 058 768 with 39 529 new tests conducted since the last report,” said Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize.
Also, the recoveries have risen to 88% after 1 254 674 patients recuperated.
Globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is reporting 99 363 697 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 2 135 959 deaths. – SAnews.gov.za
