Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize announced this morning [March 24] that there has been an increase in new positive coronavirus cases in the country. There has been a sharp increase of 153 new cases since the last statistics were announced yesterday [March 23].

According to Mkhize, the total number of positive COVID-19 cases in the country is now at 554. This announcement follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that the country will be under a national lockdown from midnight on Thursday, March 26 until midnight of April 16.

Gauteng now has 302 cases, with most of these clustered around Johannesburg. The Western Cape has 130 recorded cases while KwaZulu-Natal now has 80 cases.

Yesterday, Mkhize said that the official number of coronavirus positive cases in the country surged to 402 – an increase of 128 cases since March 22.

He also announced that the Northern Cape has had its first confirmed case during yesterday’s press briefing.

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Lucinda is a hard news writer who occasionally dabbles in lifestyle writing, and recent journalism graduate. She is a proud intersectional feminist, and is passionate about actively creating a world which is free of discrimination and inequality.