Zweli Mkhize confirms South Africa’s first COVID-19 death

Update: The NICD on Friday confirmed that the second suspected COVID-19 victim tested negative for the disease. Only one COVID-19 related death has been confirmed in SA.

#COVID19 UPDATE: This morning we reported that 2 deaths had occurred as a result of #COVID19 virus. The 1st patient was a 48 year old female who tested positive on the 23rd March 2020. She was suffering from pulmonary embolism. This means she had an underlying disease.

— NICD (@nicd_sa) March 27, 2020

Original article: Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize confirmed on Friday the first two deaths in South Africa as a result of COVID-19.

In a brief statement published on the first day of South Africa’s 21-day national lockdown, Mhkize noted that the two patients were both from the Western Cape.

One was housed at a private hospital, the other at a public hospital.

It is with deep sadness that we announce two loss of lives to #coronavirus . We will update with more details pic.twitter.com/WXUORwjjHL

— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) March 27, 2020

“We will give more details later on, when we announce the latest confirmed COVID-19 cases,” he added.

The numbers, he informed have now broken past the 1000 mark in South Africa.

Worldwide, total known cases have increased to 530 000.

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Feature image: CDC via Unsplash