As we begin the final week of October, life under alert level 1 lockdown has proved tough for many, and made even more so given the recent rise in temperatures of late. With no word on when, or indeed if, the country will move out of lockdown, COVID-19 in South Africa still remains our most pressing issue.
To that end, the National Department of Health (NDoH) has released its latest statistics regarding the spread of the pandemic locally, with the total number of infections recording to date now sitting at 715 868.
This after 1 622 new cases were reported over the past 24 hours.
As for recoveries, the NDoH reports that 646 170 have been recorded, with close to 4.7 million tests having been conducted across the country to date. As has been the case for a number of weeks now, the recovery rate remains steady at 90 percent.
Unfortunately, however, the number of fatalities has risen, with 24 new deaths being recorded over the past 24 hours. The total related to COVID-19 is currently 18 968 as a result.
The full breakdown of COVID-19 in South Africa is as follows:
Provinces | Confirmed Cases | Recoveries | Active cases | Deaths |
Western Cape | 116 150 | 107 341 | 8 809 | 4 325 |
Eastern Cape | 93 986 | 88 437 | 5 549 | 3 552 |
Northern Cape | 21 375 | 17 504 | 2 859 | 256 |
Free State | 55 615 | 40 980 | 14 635 | 1 478 |
KwaZulu-Natal | 122 263 | 112 468 | 9 795 | 3 191 |
North West | 32 738 | 28 804 | 3 934 | 418 |
Mpumalanga | 29 333 | 28 056 | 1 277 | 594 |
Gauteng | 227 193 | 206 362 | 20 831 | 4 703 |
Limpopo | 17 215 | 16 218 | 997 | 451 |
Unknown | 0 | |||
TOTAL | 715 868 | 646 170 | 69 698 | 18 968 |
As always, in order to stay up to date with the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa and abroad, we advise the following materials and platforms:
- Dr Zweli Mkhize on Twitter
- COVID-19 Connect on WhatsApp – add 0600 123 456 as a contact and say “Hi”.
- World Health Organisation
- SA Coronavirus website
- SA Government
- SA Presidency
[Image – United Nations COVID-19 Response on Unsplash]