9 May 2020 – Seventeen more Covid-19-related deaths have been recorded in the country, bringing the number to 178, while the biggest one-day spike in new cases hit 663.
The number of cases had increased to 8 895, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced in his daily update on Friday night (8 May 2020).
The health department said there were delays in the reporting of some of the deaths as it was conducting verification processes.
According to Mkhize, the Western Cape’s 503 new cases were 76% of all new ones, while the Eastern Cape contributed 9% in the past 24 hours.
He said the department would be embarking on oversight visits in the two provinces as cases increased.
The breakdown of cases per province was:
Eastern Cape – 989
Free State – 133
Gauteng – 1 851
KwaZulu-Natal – 1 253
Limpopo – 43
Mpumalanga – 60
North West – 42
Northern Cape – 27
Western Cape – 4 497
The Western Cape had the highest reported deaths at 88 and also carried more than 50% of the Covid-19 burden in the country at this point, according to Mkhize.
The province previously argued its rapid, active testing approach to put out “bushfires” had naturally seen more cases being declared.
The number of deaths per province is:
Eastern Cape – 21
Free State – 6
Gauteng – 18
KwaZulu-Natal – 42
Limpopo – 3
Mpumalanga – 0
North West – 0
Northern Cape – 0
Western Cape – 88
“We are also pleased to report that as of 5 May, 8 216 605 citizens have been screened across the country,” Mkhize said.
As of Thursday, 435 patients were hospitalised, with 45 in high care, 77 in ICU and 40 being ventilated.
Mkhize said the hospitalisation rate in the country remained at 5% of all diagnosed patients.
To date, 307 752 tests have been conducted, with 15 599 done in the past 24 hours.
(source: News24)