COVID-19 update

COVID-19 cases in South Africa continue to rise, with private and public laboratories now fully equipped to test for SARS-CoV-2, the causative pathogen for COVID-19. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, is closely monitoring the status of COVID-19 in the country and as of 17 March 2020, the NICD confirms 23 new additional cases of COVID-19 which have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.

As of 17 March 2020 a total of 2 911 suspected cases of COVID-19 have been tested by public and private laboratories, of which 85 were positive. The Gauteng Province has recorded the majority of cases (45) so far and followed by the Western Cape Province (16). The 23 newly added cases consist of eight locally transmitted cases, four from the Gauteng Province, three from the KwaZulu-Natal Province and one from the Western Cape Province with no international travel history. The provincial break down of the cases are as follows:

Gauteng Province

·       A 45-year-old male who travelled to Belgium, the United Kingdom, France and the United States of America

·       A 37-year-old male who travelled to the United Kingdom

·       A 54-year-old female who travelled to the United States of America

·       A 52-year-old male who travelled to the United Kingdom

·       A 25-year-old male who travelled to the United Kingdom

·       A 25-year-old male who travelled to the United Kingdom

·       A 52-year-old female who travelled to Italy

·       A 59-year-old male who travelled to the United Kingdom and Dubai

·       A 57-year-old male who travelled to the United States of America

·       A 60-year-old male who travelled to the United States of America

·       A 37-year-old female who travelled to Italy and Dubai

·       A 21-year-old female with no international travel history

·       A 34-year-old male with no international travel history

·       A 26-year-old female with no international travel history

·       A 32-year-old female with no international travel history

KwaZulu-Natal Province

·       A 48-year-old male who travelled to Dubai

·       A 59-year-old female with no international travel history

·       A 5-year-old male with no international travel history

·       A 3-year-old male with no international travel history

Western Cape Province

·       A 3-year-old male who travelled to the United Kingdom

·       A 58-year-old male who travelled to the United Kingdom and Austria

·       A 2-year-old male with no international travel history

·       A 62-year-old female who travelled to the United Kingdom and Ethiopia

·       A 71-year-old female who travelled to the United Kingdom

Contact tracing of those who might have come into contact with the patients is underway, this is done to reduce further local transmission of COVID-19 in the community in South Africa. In response to minimising the number of locally transmitted cases, the NICD continues to strengthen surveillance activities to capacitate testing and following up on suspected cases.

Ends.

Sinenhlanhla Jimoh

Senior Communications Manager

National Institute for Communicable Diseases

Division of National Health Laboratory Service

1 Modderfontein Road, Sandringham

Sinenhlanhlaj@nicd.ac.za | www.nicd.ac.za

Twitter: @nicd_sa