South Africa recorded four new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, which include its first local transmission of the deadly disease.
The Ministry of Health said in a statement that a 32-year-old man from Free State Province has tested positive to coronavirus or COVID-19 after coming into contact with a Chinese businessman.
The other three new cases involved South Africans who had contracted the disease outside the country.
These include a man from the coastal city of Durban who lives in Turkey and was visiting his family in South Africa. He is believed to have travelled to the United Kingdom and returned to South Africa on 7 March.
The other two cases are of a woman from Mpumalanga and a Johannesburg man who had separately travelled to the United States.
“Our tracing teams are now making a list and have started contacting individuals that have been identified as these patients’ contacts,” the ministry said.
The new patients are all in self quarantine and have mild to moderate symptoms for which they are receiving treatment.
JN/APA