"COVID-19 numbers in SA worrying’ says Deputy Health Minister
The Deputy Minister of Health, Joe Phaahla has described the number of positive cases of the COVID-19 Coronavirus in the country as worrying.
Phaahla was briefing the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday.
South Africa had 116 confirmed positive cases as of Thursday morning, a number that is expected to increase as more people are undergoing testing.
The Health Department also confirmed 14 of the positive cases contracted the virus locally.
ALSO READ: NCOP supports dissolution of Tshwane
"We have been monitoring a daily basis and it is also worrying because in the first few days it was all confined to the 10 people who traveled to Italy,” said Phaahla, “but over the last 10 days or so the numbers have been rising and it has been largely people who have traveled mainly to Europe and lately from the USA as well.”
He said that the trend in the African continent is still low.
"In the African continent, the infection rate is still fairly low compared to what it is in other parts of the world, especially in Asia, China, South Korea, Europe, and Australia. Africa - and also to some extent South America - the figures are still comparatively low. Egypt is leading in the African continent with just below 200 infections."
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has, however, urged Africans to prepare for the worst after the first death was reported in Sub-Saharan Africa in Burkina Faso on Wednesday.