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South Africa has seen a big jump in cases of Covid-19 coronavirus – the country now has 402 confirmed cases, an increase of 128 from yesterday.
The Northern Cape has its first confirmed cases.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation on measures to be undertaken to mitigate the impact of Covid-19. He was aiming to address the country on Sunday night, but was still engaging with business and other stakeholders.
After Ramaphosa had spoken, health officials would give details and explanations on the results including the significant rise, the ongoing testing processes, and each province’s progress on contact tracing efforts.
“The National Institute of Communicable Diseases is still collating and verifying information,” said Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.
“Our priority is for provinces to be alerted of the new confirmed cases so that immediate contact can be made with the these new patients and ensure that contact tracing starts.”
Meanwhile, the South African National Defence Force on Sunday said that it would be deploying troops to help in the fight against the virus.
A South African Army Infantry Formation warning order calls for the deployment of two sub-units of a batallion in Gauteng, the nation’s economic heartland. One sub-unit is to be posted to each of South Africa’s remaining eight provinces, according to the order dated March 22 and signed by Brigadier-General Bayanda Mkula.
“This conceptually entails supporting other government departments in terms of disaster relief, humanitarian assistance and crisis response,” it said. All leave has been canceled while the order is in force, which will be at least 21 days and as long as three months, it said.
The army will give assistance to the police and the forces are encouraged to execute tasks, such as searches and cordons, in concert.
Defense Ministry spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said he couldn’t immediately comment as he was in a meeting.
Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation on Monday evening. A time has still not been confirmed. - Additional reporting by Bloomberg
