The weekend arrives after what feels like a week that was far longer than we’d have liked but at least it’s here now.
With South Africa still gripped by the threat of COVID-19 infection, it was good to hear that government will lift the suspension of the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine programme.
This does however mean that South Africans must remain cautious and continue to social distance, wear masks and wash/sanitise your hands regularly.
Sadly the National Department of Health reports 55 lives were lost to COVID-19 on 22nd April.
“Today, 55 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported: Eastern Cape 11, Free State 14, Gauteng 20, Kwa-Zulu Natal 3, Limpopo 0, Mpumalanga 1, North West 0, Northern Cape 0 and Western Cape 6, which brings the total to 53 995 deaths,” the department reported.
The recovery rate however appears to be fixed at 95 percent which is good news.
The full breakdown follows below:
Provinces | Confirmed Cases | Recoveries | Active cases | Deaths |
Western Cape | 285686 | 272108 | 1996 | 11582 |
Eastern Cape | 195932 | 184229 | 210 | 11493 |
Northern Cape | 38617 | 34183 | 3554 | 880 |
Free State | 86660 | 80445 | 2398 | 3817 |
KwaZulu-Natal | 336020 | 320632 | 5041 | 10347 |
North West | 66428 | 61881 | 2881 | 1666 |
Mpumalanga | 77394 | 75013 | 991 | 1390 |
Gauteng | 420908 | 407113 | 3231 | 10564 |
Limpopo | 63703 | 61152 | 295 | 2256 |
Unknown | 0 | |||
TOTAL | 1571348 | 1496756 | 20597 | 53995 |
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 – CC 0 Pixabay]