Update: Government has now stated that the Free State local transmission case actually tested negative for COVID-19. It has therefore revised the total number of cases to 16. At the time of writing, there is no known local tranmission cases of COVID-19 in South Africa.
Original article: Four new cases of COVID-19 coronavirus has been identified in South Africa on Thursday, bringing the total number to 17. More importantly, the country has now also identified its first local transmission of the virus.
No ad to show here.
Previously, all cases have travelled into South Africa from abroad. A new case in Free State though has been infected within the country.
“A 32-year-old male came into contact with a Chinese businessman, making it the first case of local transmission, as all other cases have been by patients who had travelled abroad,” said an SA Gov News release.
[Read] SA confirms first case of local transmission of #Covid_19 #CoronavirusInSA #CoronaVirusUpdate @HealthZA @nicd_sa @DrZweliMkhize pic.twitter.com/fIkHtTd2q9
— SA Gov News (@SAgovnews) March 12, 2020
The other three cases — in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga — continue the latter trend.
The news comes just hours after the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
Memeburn’s rolling COVID-19 coronavirus coverage
For more details on the COVID-19 outbreak, including breaking news, reliable sources to follow, online information and courses, and more, bookmark our coronavirus hub here.
- Follow our Twitter list of scientists, government personnel and reporters covering the outbreak.
- Educate yourself about the virus through these online courses and resources from WHO, the US CDC, and more.
- Keep up to speed with the number of cases with this helpful dashboard.
- Subscribe to these coronavirus podcasts to keep up to date with the ever-changing news.
Feature image: coyot via Pixabay
