65,736 confirmed coronavirus cases in South Africa as deaths climb to 1,423
Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has announced that South Africa now has 65,736 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
This is up by 3,809 cases from the 61,927 infections on Friday when the country recorded 3,359 new cases.
The minister announced 69 new deaths, taking the total up to 1,423, while recoveries increased to 36,850, which translates to a recovery rate of 56%.
A total of 1,067,887 tests have been conducted to date, of which 27,462 tests have been conducted over the past 24-hour period.
As of today, the cumulative number of confirmed #COVID19 cases in South Africa is 65,736. We report a further 69 #Covid_19 related deaths: 36 from Western Cape, 9 from the Eastern Cape, and 24 from Gauteng. pic.twitter.com/EMdSfkNmwy
— Department of Health: COVID-19 (@COVID_19_ZA) June 13, 2020
Globally, coronavirus cases topped 7.77 million on Saturday, while deaths have exceeded 428,900 and 3.98 million recoveries have been reported.
As hopes fade that Africa will be spared the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and hospitals fill up, authorities are facing the grim reality that many severely ill patients will have to recover – or die – at home, Bloomberg reported.
The continent accounts for less than 5% of the 7.6 million confirmed infections globally, but cases are rising rapidly as the disease takes hold in several cities where overcrowding makes physical distancing almost impossible.
Spending on healthcare in Africa is about 1% of the global total, leaving hospitals ill-equipped to deal with the surge.
Data from South Africa shows about 10% of those diagnosed with the virus require hospitalization.
The World Health Organisation estimates as many as 190,000 of Africa’s 1.3 billion people could die in the pandemic’s first year if containment measures fail.
It took 98 days to diagnose the first 100,000 cases in Africa and just 18 days to reach the 200,000 mark – a surge that in part reflects an increase in testing.
“We can see that the clouds are gathering and we need to move pretty fast,” minister Mkhize said on June 11. “We need to make sure we prepare for a situation where the numbers are higher.”
Gender-based violence
President Cyril Ramaphosa says that there has been a surge in gender-based violence and femicide since the country moved to lockdown level 3.
It is a dark and shameful week for us as a nation. criminals have descended to even greater depths of cruelty and callousness. It simply cannot continue,” Ramaphosa said in a statement on Saturday (13 June),
“We note with disgust that at a time when the country is facing the gravest of threats from the pandemic, violent men are taking advantage of the eased restrictions on movement to attack women and children.”
In addition to a number of high-profile cases of gender-based violence this week, Ramaphosa said that the country’s crime statistics also show a general increase in violent crimes.
“According to the SAPS, there has been an increase in violent crime, especially murders, since we entered alert level 3.
“We need to understand what factors are fuelling this terrible trend and, as society as a whole, address them urgently,” the President said.
Ramaphosa said he is now deploying ministers and deputy Ministers to meet with community leaders in all districts around the country as part of national efforts to combat Covid-19.
During these visits, they will be engaging with communities on this upsurge in gender-based violence so that everyone can work together to prevent the killing of women, he said.
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