Covid-19 cases increase to 554

Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize has announced that the number of Covid-19 cases have increased to 554 on Tuesday.

This is an increase of 152 confirmed cases from Monday’s announcement of 402. Mkhize and the Inter-ministerial committee dealing with the virus addressed the nation in Pretoria on Tuesday morning. This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Monday of a national lockdown which will come into effect from Thursday 26 March at 23h59 till April 16.

The lockdown is in an effort to manage the rapid spread of the virus. Mkhize has re-iterated that the number of cases is expected to increase ahead of the 21 days lockdown.

“The rate at which the numbers are increasing, we expect that the numbers will still increase for the next week, but once our programme tightens up we should start seeing a change probably in the third week,” said Mkhize.

He added that citizens should not be shocked when the numbers increase. As we slowly approach the flu season, the health ministry has urged the elderly and those with underlying illnesses to take the flu vaccine.

“This is just to make sure we limit the impact of influenza and we will also be increasing our testing capacity,” added Mkhize.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to meet with traditional leaders at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential House on Tuesday afternoon as part of the president’s consultations with various stakeholders on the national lockdown.