Covid-19 update: Gauteng new epicentre, 1.5 million graves prepared

Gauteng has officially become South Africa's new epicentre amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Briefly.co.za explores the latest updates on the battle against the virus.

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Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has confirmed that Gauteng is the nation's new Covid-19 epicentre.

Briefly.co.za takes a look at the top updates concerning the pandemic in SA:

1. Gauteng is SA's new epicentre

Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has provided South Africa with an update on the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement issued by the Health Ministry on Wednesday evening, Mkhize confirmed that:

"As of today, a cumulative total of 224 665 confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa have been reported. Gauteng Province has now overtaken Western Cape as the province with the highest numbers of cases cumulatively."

Mkhize also noted that the nation had recorded a further 100 Covid-19 fatalities, continuing:

"Regrettably, we report a further 100 Covid-19 related deaths: 2 from Limpopo, 18 from KwaZulu-Natal, 15 from Mpumalanga, 18 from Eastern Cape, 47 from Western Cape. This brings the total deaths to 3 602.

"We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased. The number of recoveries is 106 842, which translates to a recovery rate of 47,5%."

READ ALSO: Inquiry into Covid-19 corruption: Ramaphosa's R500 billion looted

2. Over 1 million mass graves available in Gauteng

Over 1.5 million graves are available in the Gauteng province as the state braces itself for the worst-case scenario.

Health MEC Bandile Masuku confirmed that the local government was preparing for any eventuality with the province overtaking the Western Cape as the country's epicentre.

The majority of the gravesites are being prepared near the province's capital, Pretoria, explained Masuku:

“We are preparing over 1.5 million gravesites and it’s an uncomfortable discussion. As a medical practitioner, it becomes… not something of my great topics but it’s the reality we need to do here. We need to be prepared.”

3. Ramaphosa says Covid-19 has fast-tracked changes to how work is done

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has had to launch an investigation into the looting of Covid-19 relief funds, says that the pandemic has presented an unusual opportunity for the world to improve how people around the world work:

"It has added impetus to the world's goal of making workplaces more agile, adaptable and agile."

Ramaphosa says that this progress would have been slow without the pandemic, but acknowledged that it came at a great cost:

"Covid-19 has left no aspect of human existence untouched, from health to security, from social systems to economies and livelihoods."

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Source: Briefly News