South Africa reports 712 COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours

PRETORIA

South Africa reported 712 coronavirus-related deaths in a 24-hour period, bringing the total number of fatalities to 35,852, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said late Thursday.

Mkhize said the coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal reported the highest number of fatalities at 232, followed by Western Cape Province with 162 and Gauteng province, which includes the economic hub Johannesburg and capital Pretoria, with 114 deaths.

The Eastern Cape Province reported 97 deaths. Meanwhile, the other remaining five provinces each had less than 60 fatalities reported.

Mkhize said the country also detected 18,503 new COVID-19 infections in a period of 24 hours after conducting 74,830 new tests.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases identified in South Africa is now 1,296,806.
According to a tally by local media, the country has lost some 2,237 people to the virus in the past three days.

On Wednesday, the country reported 806 deaths, and Tuesday 755 deaths.

South Africa, currently battling its second wave of COVID-19, has the highest number of infections and deaths on the continent and is the sixteenth most affected country globally.