South Africa Hits 17 Cases Of Coronavirus Positive Patients

South Africa’s Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has announced that South Africa now has 17 confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19).

This follows  after World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed on Wednesday that the new coronavirus outbreak can now be categorised as a pandemic.

The virus has spread to over 100 countries around the world, with over 124,000 cases and 4,500 deaths reported.

At the moment, China remains the worst-affected country, with more than 80,000 confirmed cases and over 3,000 deaths.

This  was after an additional four cases were confirmed on Wednesday.

The statement confirmed additional cases from the following provinces:

One case in KwaZulu-Natal: A 38-year-old man from Durban who lives in Turkey was visiting his family in South Africa when he tested positive for the coronavirus. He had travelled to the UK and returned to South Africa on 7 March.

One case in Mpumalanga: A 27-year-old female who travelled to the US returned to South Africa on 7 March, where she tested positive.

One case in Gauteng: A 43-year-old male from Johannesburg travelled to New York via Dubai and returned to South Africa on 8 March.

One case in the Free State: A 32-year-old male came into contact with a Chinese businessman, and has tested positive. This case is the first local transmission incident – all other patients had been travelling abroad.

Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize said that at this stage, all patients are self-quarantining, and are exhibiting mild to moderate symptoms. They are receiving symptomatic treatment.

The department’s tracing teams are currently making a list and have started contacting people the patients may have come into contact with.

A briefing will be held on Thursday afternoon.