The number of confirmed novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in South Africa now stands at 240, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Saturday.

The NICD, a division of the national health laboratory service, as of March 21, “can confirm 38 new additional cases that have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the causative pathogen for COVID-19”, the institute said in a statement.

“To date, South Africa has a total of 240 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the announcement of the first confirmed case by the Minister of Health Dr Zwelini Mkhize on 5 March 2020.”

“Of the 38 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, we wish to confirm the first imported COVID-19 case in the Eastern Cape province that tested positive for SARS-CoV- 2 from a 28-year-old female who travelled to Germany. The Gauteng province continues to dominate the total share of confirmed COVID-19 cases, followed by the Western Cape povince and the KwaZulu-Natal province, respectively,” the statement said.

Source: ANA