Before we begin we’d like to take a moment to explain what is happening here.
“Why is a technology news website covering COVID-19 news,” is a question we’re bound to receive so we’re going to address it right here.
Regulations published by Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams on Thursday stated that “all internet sites operating within .zaDNA top level domain name must have a landing page with a visible link to www.sacoronavirus.co.za”.
As we fall under that regulation, we are required to link to the Department of Health’s website but we’re taking that a step further.
Every morning and every afternoon we will publish an update regarding COVID-19 in South Africa. For the purpose of these updates we will refer solely to the following sources of information:
- National Institute for Communicable Diseases
- Department of Health
- The World Health Organisation
- South African Government
We understand that folks are doing amazing things with data-viz and there are comments from experts that can help, but our goal with these updates is to provide you, our reader, with accurate information from trusted sources. If the source is not reliable, it will not be linked here.
We will also be placing a banner on our home page which you can click at any time to be directed to www.sacoronavirus.co.za.
Our first update follows on below.
Confirmed Cases
As of 26th March confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Africa have climbed by 218 to 927 total cases.
Cases by province are as follows according to the the Department of Health.
- Gauteng – 409
- Western Cape – 229
- KwaZulu Natal – 134
- Free State – 49
- North West – 5
- Mpumalanga – 9
- Limpopo – 6
- Eastern Cape – 5
- Northern Cape – 2
- Unallocated – 79
Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize has confirmed that two South Africans have died as a result of COVID-19. Both deaths occurred in the Western Cape.
It is with deep sadness that we announce two loss of lives to #coronavirus . We will update with more details pic.twitter.com/WXUORwjjHL
— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) March 27, 2020
It is currently day 1 of a 21-day nation-wide lockdown.
Lockdown means that only essential services and those providing said services are operational. All South Africans are to remain in their homes until at least 00:01 on 17th April. The only exceptions are to obtain essential goods, seek medical attention or to travel to work where you render an essential service. South Africans who are able to, may continue working from home.
Globally there have been 465 915 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been as many as 21 031 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) latest statistics.
Reliable sources of information
- Dr Zweli Mkhize on Twitter
- COVID-19 Connect on WhatsApp – add 0600 123 456 as a contact and say “Hi”.
- World Health Organisation
- SA Coronavirus website
- SA Government
- SA Presidency