55,421 confirmed coronavirus cases in South Africa as deaths jump to 1,210
Minister of health Dr Zweli Mkhize has announced that South Africa now has 55,421 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
This is up by 2,430 cases from the 52,991 infections on Tuesday.
The minister announced 48 new deaths, taking the total up to 1,210, while recoveries increased to 31,505, which translates to a recovery rate of 56.8%.
A total of 998,400 tests have been conducted to date, of which 30,330 tests have been conducted over the past 24-hour period.
As of today, the cumulative number of confirmed #COVID19 cases is 55 421, the total number of deaths is 1210 and the recoveries to date are 31 505. pic.twitter.com/7MNNRskAHV
— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) June 10, 2020
Globally, coronavirus cases topped 7.35 million globally on Wednesday, while deaths have exceeded 414,000, with more than 3.63 million recoveries.
One of Europe’s most-recognised asset managers is betting that a vaccine for the coronavirus will arrive this year, a key development that could presage a recovery for the global economy, Bloomberg reported.
“Our central scenario today is that with 80% probability there will be a vaccine by year-end by the likes of Pfizer or someone like that,” Cesar Perez Ruiz, Pictet Wealth Management’s chief investment officer, said on a conference call. It will probably be made available to those who are most at risk of the virus, and then rolled out to everybody by the summer of next year, he added.
“We’re putting the whole intellect of the world at work to get that shortened as much as possible,” said Ruiz, who helps oversee Pictet Wealth Management’s 218 billion Swiss francs ($230 billion) in assets under management.
There are currently more than 130 vaccines under development globally, with the number of treatments around the same, Bloomberg said.
Pictet’s confidence chimes with the view put forward by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, which is funding nine different coronavirus vaccine projects.
Others say it could take much longer, and the top US infectious disease specialist, Anthony Fauci, called the coronavirus pandemic his “worst nightmare,” warning that the deadly outbreak is far from over.
Trauma admissions
Trauma admissions in South African hospitals have surged since a nine-week ban on alcohol sales was lifted on June 1, filling beds needed to accommodate a rapid rise in coronavirus patients, Bloomberg reported.
The ban was imposed as part of a lockdown the government instituted on March 27 that aimed at readying the health system for the virus and curbing its spread.
While that dealt a heavy blow to some 25,000 liquor stores and 65,000 bars and restaurants that sell alcohol, South Africa’s so-called excess death rate plunged, making it one of a handful of countries globally to register fewer rather than more deaths during the pandemic, Bloomberg said.
The weekly number of deaths from unnatural causes – mainly homicides and road accidents – fell to 400 by the end of April, the lowest on record, from 1,200 in January, data compiled by the South African Medical Research Council show.
Binge drinking is widespread in South Africa, which features consistently on the World Health Organisation’s list of the 20 nations with the highest per-capita alcohol consumption.
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