The North West and the Northern Cape are the only two provinces in the entire country that have not recorded any positive case of the virus. Health Minister, Mzweli Mkhize, has so far announced that seven provinces have registered cases of the virus and 274 cases have been confirmed nationwide. Free State province, which is part of Central South Africa, on Friday became the first province in the country to register a bulk of seven cases at one go. So far, Gauteng province has recorded the highest incidence with 132 confirmed cases, followed by the Western Cape with 88 cases.

The Free State now stands at nine cases following the latest announcement by Mkhize last night. In total, 34 new cases were reported by Mkhize last night, and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases(NICD) further urged the public to continue practising preventive measures such as social distancing, hand hygiene and cough etiquette.

So far 9315 tests have been conducted, 274 positive cases have been confirmed, 9049 cases have turned out to be negative and zero deaths have been reported. Different provinces, including those in the centre of the country, have been taking measures to prevent the possible spread of the outbreak.

Last week North West premier Job Mokgoro and Free State premier, Sisi Ntombela, announced their committee set to help in the fight against the spread of the virus. On Wednesday, Mokgoro said a 40-bed ward at the Klerksdorp Tshepong Hospital complex has been prepared as the designated hospital with an isolation centre for any possible outbreak of the coronavirus in the province.

On the other hand, Ntombela announced that 114 beds have been organised across the province, with 38 beds at the isolation centre of Pelonomi in Bloemfontein, which is the province’s designated hospital during the coronavirus outbreak.

OFM News