SA conducts more than five million Covid-19 tests as cases climb to 740,254

SA passed the five million mark for Covid-19 tests on Tuesday.
SA passed the five million mark for Covid-19 tests on Tuesday.
Image: REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo

SA on Tuesday reached a remarkable milestone in its efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus: more than five million tests have been done.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Tuesday night that 17,269 tests had been conducted in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative number of tests done across SA to 5,010,350.

Mkhize said 1,729 new cases of Covid-19 had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, taking the national total to 740,254.

He also reported that 106 Covid-19 related deaths had been recorded since Monday night. Of these, 15 occurred in the past 24 to 48 hours, with the balance being historical deaths that had been verified since Monday. There are now 19,951 confirmed Covid-19 related fatalities across SA.

Mkhize said there were 683,194 confirmed recoveries, at a recovery rate of 92%.

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