Coronavirus: 13 new cases recorded in SA, total jumps to 51
15 March 2020
The number of Covid-19 cases in South African has risen to 51, with 13 new cases identified since Saturday, Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize announced on Sunday.
Seven new cases were reported in Gauteng, one in KwaZulu-Natal and five in the Western Cape.
Currently, all those who have tested positive are people who travelled to other countries before returning South Africa.
"Last night the Minister and Deputy Minister of Health held an urgent National Health Council meeting with all the provincial MECs and HODs for Health. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the latest situational analysis of each province as more Covid-19 cases are being confirmed.
"In our engagement, it became clear that the role played by contact tracers is very important and their capacity needs to be strengthened. The NHC agreed that in order to minimise the risk of further spread of the virus, contact tracing must be done within 48 hours," Mkhize said.President Cyril Ramaphosa is set hold an emergency Cabinet meeting on Sunday to discuss strategies to deal with Covid-19 in South Africa and its impact on education and public health.
Cabinet will also decide whether to institute travel bans on countries who have not managed to contain their infection rates.
Here is a breakdown of the 13 new cases confirmed on Sunday:
GAUTENG: 7
A 60-year-old male who had travelled to Iran.
A 36-year-old male who had travelled to the UK
A 54-year-old male who had travelled to Switzerland
A 27-year-old male who had travelled to the UK
A 21-year-old female who had travelled to Germany
A 53-year-old female who had travelled to Germany
A 29-year-old male who had travelled to Switzerland
WESTERN CAPE: 5
A 35-year-old female who had travelled to Germany and Austria
A 42-year-old female who had travelled to Spain, Switzerland and the UK
A 50-year-old male who had travelled to the Netherlands
A 33-year-old male who had travelled to Switzerland
A 35-year-old male who had travelled to Austria
KWAZULU-NATAL: 1
A 34-year-old male who had travelled to the UK
