The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Eastern Cape now stands at 10.
That’s according to the latest figures released on Saturday by the Department of Health and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
The number of cases countrywide stood at 1187 with 31 963 tests having been done.
One death was reported in the Western Cape.
Meanwhile, Health Minister, Dr. Zweli Mkhize has expressed concern that more than 10 medical staff had tested positive for the coronavirus.
He also announced that the young Limpopo doctor who had tested positive after travelling abroad for a holiday had now recovered following a 14-day quarantine period.
The Minister said that the Mpumalanga hospital which had been closed after a doctor tested positive after travelling abroad, would be re-opened next week.
In the Free State, three doctors, a nurse, and a neuropsychologist have tested positive for COVID19. Six doctors have been infected in Gauteng.
“All these health workers are in good condition with most of them having mild or no symptoms. It is only one doctor in the Free State, aged 70, who is in ICU” said Mkhize.
He added that none of these health workers were infected by the patients they were treating.
Mkhize also said that health workers will get priority for flu vaccines this year, warning that stocks are ordered a year and at the time “we had not anticipated this coronavirus pandemic”.
He pleaded for the understanding of South Africans who may not have access to flu vaccines this year.
