61,927 confirmed coronavirus cases in South Africa as deaths climb to 1,354
Minister of health Dr Zweli Mkhize has announced that South Africa now has 61,927 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
This is up by 3,359 cases from the 58,568 infections on Thursday when the country recorded 3,148 new cases.
The minister announced 70 new deaths, taking the total up to 1,354, while recoveries increased to 35,008, which translates to a recovery rate of 56.5%.
A total of 1,060,425 tests have been conducted to date, of which 32,026 tests have been conducted over the past 24-hour period.
As of today, the cumulative number of confirmed #COVID19 cases is 61 927, the total number of deaths is 1354 and the recoveries to date are 35 008. pic.twitter.com/Iy0WWawGtQ
— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) June 12, 2020
Globally, coronavirus cases topped 7.63 million globally on Thursday, while deaths have exceeded 425,000, with more than 3.86 million recoveries.
Masks can reduce the growth rate of coronavirus infections by 40%, according to researchers who studied the experience of places in Germany that promoted their use, Bloomberg reported.
After the city of Jena became an early adopter of masks in public transport and shops on April 6, new infections in the municipality of 108,000 almost disappeared.
Most of the surrounding state of Thuringia and elsewhere in Germany only adopted mask policies days or weeks later and the outbreak in many of those areas continued to spread, according to a paper from the Institute of Labor Economics in Bonn.
The researchers compared Jena’s trajectory before and after April 6 with that of a weighted-average sample of people from other German towns and cities that comprise a group with similar demographics, local health-care systems and pre-April 6 Covid-19 levels.
After Jena introduced widespread masks, new confirmed infections were 25% lower than in the control group. That sort of impact appeared to be even higher when the authors looked at the experience of larger cities in Germany.
Masks appear to be a very cost-efficient method to curb the coronavirus spread, said the authors, including Klaus Waelde from the University of Mainz. The paper appears to be the first analysis that provides field evidence on the ability of masks to curb the spread of Covid-19, the authors said.
Findings may vary in other countries or when different types of masks are scrutinized, the authors said, calling for more research on the subject. They also said the study included various types of masks as German regions didn’t require a specific type.
Gauteng alcohol ban
Over the past seven days, Covid-19 cases in Gauteng have doubled, with hospital admissions increasing and 20 more people dying as a result of Covid-19.
“Gauteng has entered a new period in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic is gaining momentum. We must face this reality head-on and mobilise all resources and energy to save lives,” Gauteng premier David Makhura said on Friday.
The premier led the Provincial Command Council media briefing as the provincial government provided an update on Covid-19.
“Cumulatively, 1,033 patients were admitted in hospital, 476 of whom were discharged and 57 succumbed to the infection. Currently, 493 patients are admitted in hospital, 22 of whom are ventilated and 124 on oxygen,” he said.
Makhura said that his provincial government will make a decision in the coming days as to whether it will call for the reinstatement of an alcohol ban in the province.
Speaking in a press briefing on Friday, Makhura said that the reintroduction of the sale of alcohol under South Africa’s level 3 lockdown has led to a direct increase in trauma-related cases, News24 reports.
“The cumulative impact is something we can see, especially in the wards. We were happy that some of the wards were empty. Some are now filling up. When the discussion takes place there is no doubt that we will share the experience of Eastern Cape.
“We will say that we are deeply concerned. We have not yet come to the decision as Provincial Command Council that says alcohol should be completely banned. We have been dealing with the effect of it.”
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