South Africa reports 149 new COVID-19 deaths

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - South Africa has recorded 149 new coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the country’s death toll to 13,308, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said late Tuesday.

Mkhize said 1,567 new cases of COVID-19 were detected in the past 24 hours, putting the total number of confirmed cases at 613,017.

He said 35 of the deaths were reported in KwaZulu-Natal Province, 54 in Gauteng Province and 16 in Mpumalanga Province. Ten deaths were recorded in the Northern Cape Province, 16 in Eastern Cape Province and 18 in Western Cape Province.

“The total number of tests conducted to date is 3.5 million, with 12,237 new tests conducted since the last report on Monday,’’ Mkhize said.

The minister said 520,381 people have recovered so far from the virus, which translates to a recovery rate of 84%.

South Africa has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the continent and the fifth highest number globally, according to data from US-based Johns Hopkins University.