South African health authorities have announced 128 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the country’s total number of recognized cases to 402.
The spike in cases represents a 46% increase over a 24-hour period in a country that has become the epicenter of the novel coronavirus pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa.
South Africa now has 402 confirmed cases of #COVID19. This means there has been an increase of 128 from yesterday’s announcement. pic.twitter.com/8L4W8Ypb63
— NICD (@nicd_sa) March 23, 2020
The latest announcement from South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases marks the first time COVID-19 has been detected in the country’s Northern Cape province. Two cases have now been confirmed in that massive, sparsely populated territory.
South Africa has deployed one of the most aggressive testing regimens on the continent, with nearly 13,000 people tested since the outbreak began.
The country has yet to record any deaths from the novel coronavirus.
