South Africa reports record number of daily virus deaths
South Africa on Wednesday announced a record 24-hour increase of 572 coronavirus deaths, bringing its total number of fatalities to 5,940.
The country is the worst-affected in Africa and among the top five in the world in terms of confirmed cases, with 394,948 infections reported to date.
"Regrettably we report 572 new COVID-19 related deaths. This brings the cumulative number of deaths to 5,940," Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a daily statement.
Almost half the total number of deaths have been reported in the Western Cape province, while the majority of positive cases are in Gauteng -- South Africa's financial hub and epicentre of the outbreak.
The mortality rate has remained low, however, at around 1.5 percent on Wednesday.
Almost 60 percent of the country's COVID-19 patients have recovered from the virus.