Covid-19: SA achieves 75% recovery rate, KZN overtakes Western Cape slightly

12th August 2020 By: News24Wire

Covid-19: SA achieves 75% recovery rate, KZN overtakes Western Cape slightly

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize

South Africa's Covid-19 recovery rate has increased to 75% – its highest to date and well above the global average of 62%.

This means out of the country's cumulative total of 566 109 confirmed Covid-19 cases, 426 125 have recovered, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced on Tuesday night.

There has also been a decrease in coronavirus-related fatalities – 130 people have succumbed to the disease in the past 24 hours, down from 213 in the Department of Health's last update on Monday. This brings South Africa's total deaths due to the virus to 10 751.

Provincially, the latest fatalities were reported as follows: 20 in the Eastern Cape, 35 in Gauteng, 30 in KwaZulu-Natal, 20 in North West, and 25 in the Western Cape.

"We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased," Mkhize said.

KZN has edged past the Western Cape and is now the province with the second most recorded cases, with Gauteng remaining the country's hotspot. KZN has to date recorded 100 494 cases, the Western Cape 100 316, while Gauteng now stands at 194 093 cases.

South Africa still remains fifth overall worldwide, behind the US, Brazil, India and Russia. Mexico and Peru are next in line with 492 522 and 483 133 cases respectively.

By Tuesday, the total number of tests conducted in South Africa was 3 278 977, with 11 483 new tests conducted since the last report on Monday. data by 11 August.