The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continued to rise at a fast pace in South Africa in the past 24 hours amid preparations to ease lockdown restrictions, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Friday.
The cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa was 27,403 as of Thursday, up by 1,466 from the previous day, according to figures released by Mkhize early Friday.
“Regrettably, we report 25 more COVID-19 related deaths,” Mkhize said. “This brings the total national deaths to 577.”
One of the latest deaths was that of an employee at the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS), who was confirmed with COVID-19 a few weeks ago, was thereafter admitted to hospital and finally succumbed to the virus on Thursday.
“We are deeply saddened by these news and wish to send words of comfort to her family and thank them for having allowed their loved one to serve the country during this difficult time,” Mkhize said.
While encouraging other NHLS employees, Mkhize assured them of the government’s commitment to providing the personal protective equipment (PPE) required and ensuring that the workplace protocols observe all the safety measures to mitigate the risk of the frontline employees getting infected.
South Africa, he said, continues to see the number of tests increasing rapidly and they consist of those who present to hospitals/laboratories (passive cases) and those who are identified for testing through the screening process.
In the past 24 hours, 20,727 tests were conducted, bringing the total number to 655,723, the minister said.
He also made reference to a backlog of 30,000 tests that had not been allocated.
This illustrates that the number of tests conducted versus the specimens collected but not yet processed fluctuates on a daily basis, according to Mkhize.
“As we have previously explained, this challenge is caused by the limited availability of test kits globally,” he said.
Priority is being given to processing specimens that are received from patients who are admitted in hospital and healthcare workers, Mkhize said.
South Africa continues to engage suppliers all over the world and have issued licenses as part of mitigating this capacity challenge, he said.
The latest development came as South Africa gets ready to move to level-three lockdown regulations on June 1, allowing 9 million people to return to work as most of the economic sectors resume operations.
