Johannesburg – Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has confirmed six new coronavirus cases in the country – taking the number of infected people to 13. All of the new infected coronavirus patients had all travelled back to the country from Europe.
The minister made the announcement on Wednesday morning. From the six new Covid-19 patients, four are based in Gauteng, while one each were from the KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape provinces.
Said Mkhize: “All the patients have now been advised. Those who are symptomatic have started receiving treatment. Some of these patients are already in hospital while some, specifically those who are asymptomatic are in self quarantine.
“Contact tracing has also started for all these cases. It is also noteworthy that to date, 642 tests have been conducted. More information relating to these cases will be communicated.
“We also request that the privacy of the patients and the families continues to be observed by the media and members of the public”.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases and the Department of Health are at the forefront of tackling the Covid-19 virus in the country.
The country’s first coronavirus case was confirmed last Thursday, when a 38-year-old Midlands man who had travelled from Italy in a group of 10 on a skiing trip, was tested positive after he visited his local doctor.
The wife also later tested positive, as did another person who was part of the trip.
By Monday, Mkhize announced that four more people had tested positive. All of those seven were from the same Italy skiing trip. They had returned to the country on March 3 after leaving for Italy on March 1.
The new cases
Gauteng – 4 new infections
1. A 33-year-old woman who had travelled to Italy and returned on March 1, 2020.
2. A couple, 34-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman who had travelled to Germany. They returned to South Africa on March 9, 2020.
3. A 57-year-old man who had travelled to Austria and Italy. He returned to South Africa on March 9, 2020.
KwaZulu-Natal: 1 new infection
1. A 40-year-old man who had travelled to Portugal. He returned on March 7, 2020.
Western Cape: 1 new infection
1. A 36-year-old man who had travelled to multiple countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Turkey. He returned to South Africa on March 9, 2020.
Total number of confirmed coronavirus infections nationally:
* KwaZulu-Natal: 7
* Gauteng: 5
* Western Cape: 1
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