EASTERN CAPE - EC RECORDED HIGHEST NUMBER OF COVID-19 DEATHS FOR 3 CONSECUTIVE DAYS

For three consecutive days, the Eastern Cape has recorded the highest number of Covid-19-related deaths.

According to the latest Covid-19 report from the Health Ministry, the EC recorded 29 new deaths.

As per Thursday's report, the Eastern Cape recorded 37 deaths and the day before, 24 deaths were reported in the province.

The latest report, South Africa's Covid-19 caseload has climbed to 746 945 with 2213 new cases confirmed in the last 24 hours.

In the last three days, the county's Covid-19 caseload has increased by more than 2000. The Health Ministry has also announced that 77 more people have died from Covid-19-related illness, taking the death toll to 20153:

Eastern Cape - 29

Free State - 21

Gauteng - 4

Kwa-Zulu Natal - 7

Limpopo - 4

Mpumalanga - 1

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Western Cape - 11

Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said SA's recoveries now stand at 692 177 which translates to a recovery rate of 92,7% while the cumulative number of tests conducted to date is 5 086 887 with 23 430 new tests conducted since the last report.

Source: SA Health Ministry

Earlier this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed concerns for the spike in EC cases. During his address to the nation earlier on Wednesday Ramaphosa said the province was showing signs of a resurgence.

He said the number of new cases in the EC was 50% higher than last week while the total number of new cases in the last 14 days was around 145% higher than the previous 14 days.

"These increases are being driven by massive spikes in the Nelson Mandela Metro and the Sarah Baartman District in particular. For the last month, there has been a sustained upward increase in hospital admissions in the province. The evidence suggests that the increases in the Eastern Cape could have been triggered by outbreaks in institutions of higher learning such as universities, schools and attendance by people at large gatherings," he said.

Ramaphosa said when this is combined with poor adherence to social distancing, mask wearing and other poor hygiene measures, the environment for rising infections is set.

"With many people moving between the Eastern Cape and other provinces – particularly the Western Cape – it is a matter of time before this surge spreads to other parts of the country. We therefore need to take measures to contain the rise in infections," he said.

In the latest report from the NICD, experts noted a sharp increase in the proportion of emergency department consultations for respiratory disease or suspected Covid-19 in the past two weeks.