South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said the country registered 2,073 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative total to over 1.58 million cases, reported Anadolu Agency.
“Today, 46 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, which brings the total deaths to 54,557,” Mkhize said in his daily update to the nation late Wednesday.
The South African minister conveyed his condolences on the government’s behalf to the family members of those who died and thanked health care workers who treated the deceased patients.
Mkhize said over 10 million COVID-19 tests have been conducted since the virus was first detected in the country last March. He added that the cumulative recoveries from the coronavirus stand at 1.51 million, representing a recovery rate of 95%.
Notably, South Africa is battling the worst coronavirus outbreak on the continent. Earlier on Wednesday, the health minister said the government has put the country on high alert for the B.1.617 COVID-19 variant circulating in India.
“We have registered the great concern that South Africans have expressed over the possible recent importation of variants of concern,” he said in a statement.
The South African health minister ensured that the government is capable of dealing with the burden of a new variant.
“Our teams remain on high alert to survey, detect and contain the spread of COVID-19 in general, with a heightened awareness of travelers from countries where variants of concern are dominating,” Mkhize said.
His statement came after a private health care group of hospitals confirmed that a patient who recently traveled to India had tested COVID-19 positive.
South Africa has inoculated just 0.5% of its population so far. The country lags behind the likes of Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Botswana.
The South African government is targeting to vaccinate about two-thirds of the population by next March.
