Of that number, about 11 000 have been referred for testing. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is now at 3034 with two more deaths associated with the Coronavirus reported in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. 

In total 108 021 people have been tested in the country. Mkhize also explained that the 108 021 is actually a reflection of the number of people tested not the number of tests done. This is because one person may be tested more than once.

This past Monday, prominent epidemiologist and HIV researcher, Professor Salim Abdool Karim revealed on national tv that South Africa won’t be able to escape the worst of the pandemic despite the implementation of a stringent lockdown. 

The worst being the exponential rise in infection rates and most likely rise in deaths. According to the leading researcher, the lockdown has given the country some time to ready itself by producing essential medical items and tracking as many cases as they can.

He estimates it’ll take at least a year or 18 months to develop a vaccine for the virus. Abdool Karim also warned for the lockdown to be lifted, the country needs to have less than 90 reported cases per day. 

At this stage, the country’s daily numbers are much higher than that.

OFM News