CORONAVIRUS CASES RISE TO 150

As of today, 19 March 2020, South Africa has 150 Coronavirus cases. This means that they have been 34 new cases since yesterday.

Of the 34 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, the majority are imported and two are locally transmitted. Contact tracing of all persons that the patients might have come into contact with is underway.

The danger of the virus is it’s rapid spread as it is highly infectious. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a global pandemic. COVID-19 has spread to more than 150 countries and territories, killing 7,873 people with almost 195,000 cases.

Last week Thursday, the 12th of March 2020, South Africa only had 16 confirmed cases and this has climbed to 150 in a week. Fortunately, South Africa has not recorded any death caused by the virus and Patient Zero (first patient to be confirmed in South Africa) has recovered.

Gauteng remains the province with the highest number of Confirmed Covid-19 patients. The provincial breakdown of the new cases in Gauteng Province is as follows:
?A 41-year-old female who travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo•
?A 43-year-old female who travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
?A 37-year-old female with no international travel history
?A 58-year-old male who travelled to the United Kingdom
?A 38-year-old male who travelled to France
?A 70-year-old female who travelled to the United States of America
?A 30-year-old male who travelled to Spain
?A 45-year-old male who travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo
?An 85-year-old male who travelled to Switzerland
?A 64-year-old male who travelled to Vietnam and Thailand
?A 41-year-old male who travelled to the Netherlands

South Africans are urged to continue practicing safe hygiene by washing hands regularly and avoid crowds.