Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has indicated that metros registering high rates of infection may need stricter lockdowns.
He was speaking in the Western Cape, which is being described as the epicentre of South Africa’s Covid-19 outbreak.
Of the 9 420 people who have tested positive, 4 809 are in the Western Cape. Of the eight new deaths in the past 24 hours, seven were in the Western Cape.
Mkhize said laboratory reports showed that almost 70% of Western Cape tests were coming back positive.
He singled out Cape Town, Johannesburg, Tshwane, Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City and the Umgungundlovu district in KwaZulu-Natal as hotspot metros, and said different levels of lockdown might need to be applied to different areas depending on the severity of infections there.
Mkhize also announced that the government had formed an occupational health committee to concentrate on properly informing health workers about the coronavirus, and ensuring health staff were provided with proper protective gear.
In other virus-related news
- AFP reported that the pandemic had killed more than 275 000 people worldwide since it began in China late last year, with more than 85% of fatalities in Europe and the United States. In all, 275 018 deaths had been reported from 3 955 631 confirmed cases;
- Europe is the most affected continent, with 154 313 deaths and 1 699 566 cases. The US has the most deaths at 77 280, followed by UK on 31 241, Italy 30 201, Spain 26 478 and France 26 230;
- It was announced that White House staffer and spokesperson for Vice President Mike Pence, Katie Miller, who has fallen ill with Covid-19, had frequent access to high-level meetings. She is also married to top Trump aide Stephen Miller, the speech writer behind the administration’s hardline immigration measures, according to AFP.