Chronicle Editor
There were 633 Covid-19 related deaths recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the country past another grim milestone.
The deaths — the highest since February 2 when 547 were recorded — mean that there have now been 65 142 confirmed fatalities since the outbreak of the coronavirus in March last year. The health department was quick to say that the deaths “did not all happen in the last 24 hours”.
“The provinces continue to conduct audits of the deaths in hospitals and updating the figures,” the department said.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Tuesday that there were also 12 537 new confirmed Covid-19 cases recorded across the country in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2 219 316 cases recorded to date.
According to the NICD, the majority of the new infections came from Gauteng (6 316 cases, or 50%), with the Western Cape (1 713 cases, or 14%) the only other province to breach the 1 000 mark.
The NICD said that there were also 619 new hospital admissions in the past 24 hours, meaning that there are now 17 157 people being treated for Covid-19 in the country’s public and private facilities. —TimesLIVE
Online Reporter