{"id":417551,"date":"2020-07-17T21:06:32","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T19:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=417551"},"modified":"2020-07-17T21:07:16","modified_gmt":"2020-07-17T19:07:16","slug":"337594-confirmed-coronavirus-cases-in-south-africa-as-deaths-climb-to-4804","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/trending\/417551\/337594-confirmed-coronavirus-cases-in-south-africa-as-deaths-climb-to-4804\/","title":{"rendered":"337,594 confirmed coronavirus cases in South Africa as deaths climb to 4,804"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has announced that there are now 337,594 total cases of coronavirus in South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>This is an increase of 13,373 cases from the 324,221 infections reported on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>The minister announced 135 new Covid-19 related deaths, taking the total to 4,804 casualties, following a 24-hour high of 216 casualties on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>He pointed to <span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">178,183<\/span>\u00a0recoveries to date.<\/p>\n<p>A total of 2.37 million tests have been conducted, with 48,130 tests conducted over the past 24 hours, Dr Mkhize said.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">As of today, the total number of confirmed <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#COVID19<\/a> cases is 337 594, the total number of deaths is 4804 and the total number of recoveries is 178 183. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OKCmS3ldnf\">pic.twitter.com\/OKCmS3ldnf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrZweliMkhize\/status\/1284200734637133828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 17, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Since 31 December 2019 and as of 17 July 2020, approximately 14 million cases of Covid-19 have been reported, including approximately 594,000 deaths, and around 8.3 million recoveries.<\/p>\n<p>Imperial College\u2019s Covid-19 vaccine trial will progress to its next stage, the university said in a statement on its website, reported by Bloomberg.<\/p>\n<p>Some 105 participants between the ages of 18 and 75 will be randomized to receive their first shot of one of three doses of the vaccine at a west London facility, followed by a booster four weeks later, according to the statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have had a promising start but it remains too early to speculate whether our vaccine candidate will be effective in preventing infection,\u201d Dr Katrina Pollock, clinical lead on the Imperial COVAC1 study, said in the statement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tips to boost your immune system<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While there is no one specific treatment or preventative measure against Covid-19, a Johannesburg based doctor is advising people to stick to a healthy diet, good rest and exercising within the limits of regulations.<\/p>\n<p>According to the general practitioner, Dr Marlin McKay, there is also some evidence that taking supplements such as vitamin D may help with boosting your immune system against the virus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis needs to be in high level, not the one that you buy over the counter as part of the combination,\u201d he explained, adding that you need about 50 000 international units of vitamin D.<\/p>\n<p>He is also recommending a high dose of vitamin C \u2013 a minimum of 1 gram, about 100 milligrams of zinc and magnesium.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd just making sure that you keep your chronic condition under control; if you\u2019re diabetic, make sure your sugar is well controlled. If you\u2019re on blood pressure medication, keep on taking your medication to maintain good blood pressure control,\u201d McKay added.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Department of Health, 8 million people are living with HIV in South Africa, 4 million with diabetes, while one in every three in the country suffers from hypertension.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t become overweight, keep exercising, try to keep as fit as you can,\u201d the doctor stressed.<\/p>\n<p>Also, drink a lot of liquids to keep dehydration at bay.<\/p>\n<p>Most importantly, if you have not received your shot of a flu vaccine, get one soon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe flu vaccine will get you that level of protection at least against influenza in case you get infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus,\u201d McKay said.<\/p>\n<p>McKay shared his views as part of the #ListenToTheDoctor campaign run by the Health Department on social media to spread awareness about the Coronavirus.<\/p>\n<p>According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), regular physical activity is good for your body and mind as millions of people grapple with the infectious disease across the globe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt can reduce high blood pressure, help manage weight and reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and various cancers \u2013 all conditions that can increase susceptibility to Covid-19,\u201d the WHO added.<\/p>\n<p>To maintain a healthy diet, the agency said people should eat a variety of food including fruits and vegetables, limit salt intake, use moderate amounts of fats and oils and cut back on sugar intake.<\/p>\n<p>Also, avoid hazardous and harmful alcohol use and mothers are advised to breastfeed their babies and young children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEating a healthy diet is very important during the Covid-19 pandemic. What we eat and drink can affect our body\u2019s ability to prevent, fight and recover from infections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also, the WHO warns against smoking.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSmokers have a higher risk of getting Coronavirus because they are constantly putting their hands to their lips.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Besides, if they contract the virus, they are at a greater risk of getting a severe case because their lung function is impaired.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQuit today to reduce these risks and start living a healthier life,\u201d WHO added.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/technology\/417535\/south-african-made-ventilators-go-into-production\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Gauteng Covid-19 data reveals deaths by age in South Africa\u2019s epicentre<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has announced that there are now 337,594 total cases of coronavirus in South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":417561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-417551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417551"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":417623,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417551\/revisions\/417623"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}