COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
| COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa | |
|---|---|
 Map with number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per province. | |
 Map with number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths per province. | |
| Disease | Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) |
| Virus strain | Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) |
| Location | South Africa |
| First outbreak | Wuhan, Hubei, China 30°35′14″N 114°17′17″E / 30.58722°N 114.28806°E |
| Index case | Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal |
| Arrival date | 1 March 2020 (4 years, 9 months, 1 week and 6 days ago) |
| Confirmed cases | 734175 (as of 6 November 2020[update])[1] |
| Recovered | 675593 (as of 6 November 2020[update])[1] |
Deaths | 19749 (as of 6 November 2020[update])[1] |
| Government website | |
| sacoronavirus | |
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed by Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize to have spread to South Africa on 5 March 2020. The first known case was a South African returning from Italy.
Response
[change | change source]
On 15 March, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared a national state of disaster,[2] and announced measures like travel restrictions and the closure of schools from 18 March.
On 17 March, Ramaphosa formed the National Command Council on COVID-19,[3] "to lead the nation's plan to contain the spread and mitigate the negative impact of the coronavirus".[3][4]
The parliament of South Africa suspended all activities on 18 March.[5] Both the African National Congress and Democratic Alliance postponed their respective elective congresses.[6]
On 23 March, a national lockdown was announced, starting on 26 March 2020.[7] On 9 April, Ramaphosa announced that it would be extended until the end of April.[8]
On 21 April, a 500 billion rand stimulus was announced in response to the pandemic.[9]
On 23 April, Ramaphosa announced that the lockdown restrictions would slowly be phased out.[10] Level 4 started on 1 May. On 1 June, the country entered level 3.[11]
Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, extended the state of disaster on 3 June. It ended on 4 July.[12]
Testing
[change | change source]
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) started testing people in South Africa for SARS-CoV-2 on 28 January 2020.[13]
By the middle of March, state hospitals were offering free COVID-19 testing.[14]
On 11 June, the Health Department said that over 1 million tests had been completed.[15]
Numbers
[change | change source]As of 27 April 2020[update], the median age of people with laboratory-confirmed cases was 38 years, and as of 2 May 2020[update] the median age of patients who died was 64.
As of 12 July 2020[update], there were 276242 confirmed cases and 4079 confirmed deaths, as well as 134874 recoveries.[16]
As of 6 November 2020[update], there were 734175 confirmed cases and 19749 confirmed deaths, as well as 675593 recoveries.[17]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "South Africa". www.worldometers.info. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ↑ "Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002 | South African Government". www.gov.za. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "President Cyril Ramaphosa meets with political parties to combat Coronavirus COVID-19, 18 Mar". South African Government. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
- ↑ "South Africa to begin easing of lockdown". Adelaide Now. 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2020-05-01.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ Ndenze, Babalo (18 March 2020). "COVID-19: Parliament closes until further notice". EWN. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ↑ Mavuso, Sihle (16 March 2020). "ANC, DA postpone conferences amid coronavirus fears". IOL. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ↑ "Ramaphosa announces 21 day coronavirus lockdown for South Africa". businesstech.co.za. 2020-03-23. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
- ↑ "South African lockdown extended – 2 more weeks". mybroadband.co.za. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ↑ "Ramaphosa announces South Africa's biggest spending plan ever to fight coronavirus". Fin24. 2020-04-21. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- ↑ "Statement by president Cyril Ramaphosa on South Africa's response to the coronavirus pandemic, Union buildings, Tshwane". sacoronavirus.co.za. 23 April 2020. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ↑ "President Cyril Ramaphosa: Developments in South Africa's risk-adjusted strategy to manage the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19". www.gov.za. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ↑ Merten, Marianne (4 June 2020). "Cabinet extends State of Disaster – and appeals judgment against Covid-19 lockdown rules". The Daily Maverick. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ↑ "COVID-19 update". NICD. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- ↑ Ferial Haffajee; Maverick Citizen; Maverick Insider Team (2020-03-19). "Coronavirus Explainer: Maverick Insider Covid-19 Questions, Answered". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
- ↑ "COVID-19: Over 1 million tests conducted in SA". eNCA. Johannesburg. 31 May 2020. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ↑ "Update on Covid-19 (12th July 2020)". sacoronavirus.co.za. 12 July 2020. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ↑ "Update on Covid-19 (6th November 2020)". sacoronavirus.co.za. 6 November 2020. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.