South Africa plans to test over 600,000 people for the coronavirus starting this week with more expected as testing kits become available, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Monday.
The minister last week announced that the country would soon embark on a door-to-door mass screening programme to identify virus cases.
As a first step in the process, the country has acquired 67 mobile clinic vans to reach remotest parts of the country for the tests, Mkhize said.
He said the country already has 200,000 testing kits – comprising of 120,000 in government stores and 80,000 in the private sector – and has ordered another 400,000 kits.
“So that gives us around 600,000 tests and we are still ordering more”, Mkhize said.
So far more than 80,000 tests have been conducted in the country, with an increase in tests conducted at publicly-owned laboratories, he said.
South Africa’s number of confirmed cases has risen to 2,173 and 25 people have died from COVID-19, the minister said.
NM/jn/APA