South Africa on Tuesday surpassed the 57,000 mark of coronavirus deaths since the pandemic broke out here over a year ago, with the latest 89 deaths recorded overnight leading to the 57,063 death toll nationwide, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has announced.
The country’s cumulative Covid-19 cases stood at 1,699,849 on Tuesday after 3,285 new infections were detected in the past 24 hours, the minister said.
He said the additional cases were from the 23,199 Covid-19 tests conducted in a 24-hour period, representing a 14.2% positivity rate.
“Our recoveries now stand at 1,581,540 cases — representing a recovery rate of 93%,” Mkhize said, adding that the latest data showed that the country was home to 61,246 active cases.
According to the minister, some 1,350,245 people have been vaccinated as the country aims to inject 40 million people to achieve a herd immunity in efforts to stop the deadly disease.
The 57,063 fatalities are since March 2020 when the country raised the alarm over the deadly virus and took measures to stop it from spreading further.
The measures included lockdowns that saw the country’s socio-economic life virtually come to a standstill, with the resultant upending of the country’s economy followed by loss of production and millions of jobs nationwide.
NM/jn/APA