“The total number of those who have tested [positive up to] today stands at 1,462 and so there has been quite an increase. But even with that increase, we have indicated that there is a restraint in the numbers, which we think is an impact of the lockdown. 

"The fact that we have closed the borders, there isn’t a lot of movement with people coming from outside; the fact that people are in their homes means that there is not a lot of mixing of people in large volumes and large numbers,” Mkhize said in Bloemfontein. 

“That has really made a huge impact. But it is still very early days, we are only just starting and our current projections are indicating that we still need to get out and go and find more people who could be positive out in the community. We will continue to do that.” 

On Tuesday, the confirmed cases stood at 1,353, which means the increase in cases over two days is 109. 

South Africa is under a 21-day national lockdown to curb the spread of the virus. 

African News Agency