Five people have lost their lives to the coronavirus in South Africa, bringing the death toll to 18. This is the most deaths in one day in South Africa.

The Department of Health has also indicated that the number of confirmed cases has increased by 96, bringing the total to 1 845. According to a statement released by the Minister Mkhize on Wednesday evening, Gauteng is still leading with 782 cases, followed by the Western Cape with 495 cases.

The deceased are all male and ages ranged from 49 to 70 years old.

There are more than 63 000 tests that have been conducted – an increase of more than 5-thousand-600 from the last update.

“We convey our condolences to the families of the deceased and also appreciate the health workers that treated the deceased patients,” said Mhkize.

KwaZulu-Natal, which has so far accounted for the greatest number of deaths, has 354 cases. The province has 9 deaths

Hospital shutdown

Earlier, KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu confirmed that the St Augustine’s Hospital will be shut down to be disinfected and fumigated.

This is after four people have died from COVID-19 at the hospital. 66 people from the hospital tested positive for the virus. The Netcare Group earlier confirmed that 47 of them are staff.

As from last week, no new patients have been admitted. Simelane-Zulu says while some patients from the hospital have been discharged, some have been moved to other hospitals.

KwaZulu-Natal government prepares for possible lockdown extension

Meanwhile, the KwaZulu Natal government is considering sending its entire matric class to boarding school after the lockdown. That is according to KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Sihle Zikalala, who was addressing the media on various reports they have been receiving.

This comes during the 21-day national lockdown, with schools been forced to close a week prior.

Zikalala says they have also planned for a potential extension of the lockdown.

“The plan explores a possibility of adopting a potential boarding schools approach for those learners and teachers doing Grade 12 and various programs for grades below that. We must emphasise that it is a holistic proposal with all risk analysed and mitigated. Currently, the department is conducting a recovery plan via mass media and other platforms.”

Source: SABCNews