A 57-year-old man from Gauteng died in the intensive care unit at the weekend, becoming SA's 27th Covid-19 death.
Health minister Zweli Mkhize said on Monday evening it worried him that “we don't have a record of any underlying diseases”.
Mkhize said there had been two additional deaths, including this man, since the statistics were released on Sunday night. There were 99 new cases of Covid-19 across SA, taking the national total to 2,272.
The second confirmed death, said Mkhize was a 68-year-old man from the Western Cape. He had underlying illnesses including diabetes, hypertension and chronic renal disease.
“This has been the pattern for most of the people we have seen,” said Mkhize.
Before providing the statistics, Mkhize noted: “It is still early days for us, and it's going to be a long and hard struggle. This is a serious challenge that we must all brace up to facing.”
Mkhize said that, so far, 83,663 people had been tested, with 21,290 from the public sector.
“That number is beginning to pick up,” said Mkhize.
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