Covid-19 update: Professor Karim confirms 'slow and steady' case spike
Professor Salim Abdool Karim has confirmed that Covid-19 cases have been on the rise. Briefly.co.za explores the latest updates on the pandemic in South Africa.
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Professor Salim Abdool Karim has weighed in on suspicions that cases in South Africa are on the rise.
The co-director of the ministerial advisory council highlighted three provinces as the main contributors to the spike.
Briefly.co.za explores the latest on the pandemic below:
Source: UGC
1. Karim acknowledges slow and steady increase in cases
Professor Salim Abdool Karim, co-director of the ministerial advisory council tackling the pandemic, has acknowledged that cases in SA are on the rise.
Speaking to eNCA, Karim confirmed suspicions that the situation has been worsening over the course of the past month:
"Put very simply, South Africa, since the first of October has seen a slow and steady increase in the overall number of cases nationally."
The professor highlighted the Free State, Western Cape and the Northern Cape as the provinces contributing to the overall increase in national infections.
2. Mkhize on latest statistics
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has updated South Africa on the latest statistics relating to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement issued by the Department of Health on Thursday evening, Mkhize commented that:
"As of today, the cumulative number of detected COVID-19 cases is 710 515, with 2156 new cases reported in the last 24 hours."
The minister also shared the latest number of fatalities, confirming that more deaths had been recorded:
"Regrettably, we report 102 COVID-19 related deaths today. This brings the total number of COVID-19 related deaths to 18 843. Of the 102 deaths reported today, 20 occurred in the past 48 hours."
Mkhzie highlighted that recoveries now stand at 642 560 which translates to a recovery rate of 90,4%.
The provincial breakdown of infections is as follows:
- Eastern Cape- 92 936
- Free State- 54 691
- Gauteng- 226 363
- KwaZulu-Natal- 121 802
- Limpopo- 17 018
- Mpumalanga- 29 109
- North West- 32 415
- Northern Cape- 20 887
- Western Cape- 115 294
Meanwhile, Briefly.co.za reported that the Department of Defence has been hit with allegations that it spent R215 million importing Covid-19 related medication that had not been registered with health authorities.
The details emerged in a confidential letter from the SA Military Health Services, showing that defence officials had spent millions on three consignments of Heberon Alpha R 2B in April.
The drug is manufactured by a Cuban-Chinese company and is believed to be effective against the coronavirus by some.
However, Major-General LC Ford ( who penned the letter) has rejected the unexpected delivery of the drug, adamant that the SAMHS has no responsibility to pay for the consignment as it does not form part of the treatment protocols for Covid-19.
In addition to this, Ford pointed out that the consignment was useless as it has not been registered for use by the South African Health Regulatory Authority.
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Source: Briefly News
