Yesterday much of the news regarding COVID-19 in South Africa centred around Ivermectin, and the decision from the South Africa Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to allow for the guided use of the “wonder drug” as some have called it in fighting the spread of the coronavirus.
Currently the World Health Organisation (WHO) is investigating its efficacy in fighting COVID-19, with insufficient scientific evidence available to support its use at the moment, especially as Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic medicine used to treat animals and livestock for the most part.
As such many are very much sitting on the fence regarding its use, and instead awaiting the much needed vaccines to enter the country.
While the wait continues, we have the latest report on COVID-19 in South Africa to look at from the National Department of Health (NDoH). Said report shows that 7 070 new cases have been reported over the past 24 hours, with the total number of cases to date increasing to 1 430 648. Added to this, 1 263 476 recoveries have also been recorded, translating to a recovery rate of 88.3 percent, which continues to rise steadily.
Unfortunately, however, 753 new fatalities have been recorded too, with KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo accounting for the most at 261 and 219 respectively. The total number of deaths related to COVID-19 in South Africa now sits at 42 550 as a result.
The full breakdown of COVID-19 in South Africa is as follows:
Provinces | Confirmed Cases | Recoveries | Active cases | Deaths |
Western Cape | 267 023 | 236 356 | 30 667 | 10 098 |
Eastern Cape | 191 060 | 177 388 | 13 672 | 10 229 |
Northern Cape | 31 387 | 27 027 | 2 859 | 560 |
Free State | 74 865 | 62 737 | 12 128 | 2 688 |
KwaZulu-Natal | 308 176 | 254 814 | 53 362 | 7 999 |
North West | 55 591 | 40 473 | 15 118 | 927 |
Mpumalanga | 62 047 | 55 924 | 6 123 | 912 |
Gauteng | 384 440 | 359 417 | 25 023 | 7 891 |
Limpopo | 56 059 | 49 340 | 6 719 | 1 246 |
Unknown | 0 | |||
TOTAL | 1 430 648 | 1 263 476 | 167 172 | 42 550 |
As always, in order to stay up to date with the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa and abroad, we advise the following materials and platforms:
- 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
[Image – Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash]