South Africa waits with bated breath as the health department is expected to announce the latest coronavirus (Covid-19) figures for Sunday 7 June 2020.
Three months since the first case was recorded, South Africa has seen a gradual increase in infections and deaths related to Covid-19.
Covid-19 in South Africa: Latest infections report
According to the most recent situation report released by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), South Africa experienced its highest daily infection spike with 2 503 cases recorded in 24 hours.
With the country operating at lockdown level 3, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has shifted our health system’s focus towards dealing with the worst that, unfortunately, is yet to come.
These are the Covid-19 figures as of Saturday 6 June 2020:
| Province | Infections | Recoveries | Deaths | Active Cases |
| Eastern Cape | 5 629 | 2 666 | 101 | 2 862 |
| Free State | 348 | 152 | 9 | 187 |
| Gauteng | 5 626 | 2 344 | 47 | 3 235 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 3 016 | 1 378 | 61 | 1 577 |
| Limpopo | 216 | 158 | 3 | 55 |
| Mpumalanga | 181 | 94 | 0 | 87 |
| North West | 468 | 73 | 1 | 394 |
| Northern Cape | 105 | 38 | 1 | 66 |
| Western Cape | 30 397 | 17 355 | 729 | 12 313 |
| Total: | 45 937 | 24 258 | 952 | 20 776 |
The two provinces under intense scrutiny
The Western Cape and Eastern Cape make up about 78% of South Africa’s infections and claim the majority of the death toll.
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For Zweli, it may be too late to intervene in the Western Cape. However, in the Eastern Cape, there is still an opportunity to halt the spread of the virus.
“We note the same pattern that drove up the outbreak in the Western Cape is building up in the Eastern Cape. The two provinces now consist of 78% of all positive cases. Additional attention is being directed to Eastern Cape to ensure the province can adequately respond to limit the escalation of infection,” Mkhize noted.
Will Covid-19 deaths surpass 1 000 on Sunday?
The health ministry is expected to release the latest Covid-19 infections and death toll on Sunday late afternoon.
The key metric under scrutiny will be the total deaths recorded. While infections edge closer towards the 50 000-mark, it is expected that deaths will surpass 1 000.
The current casualty tally stands at 952 and if the data tells us anything, its that the daily figures will only get higher.
