In his initial address, he said that two more people have died of the virus, bringing the total number of fatalities in the country to nine.

Clarifying the number, Mkhize tweeted saying: "We are still awaiting confirmation on the two [KwaZulu-Natal] KZN deaths. I raise them because you have heard about them."

Making the announcement at Khayelitsha Hospital in Cape Town on Friday afternoon, he said his department had conducted about 50,219 tests so far.

“On what we have asked the provinces to do. Everything has been put in place. When we started we didn’t know that the outbreak would be highest in Gauteng, Western Cape and Free State, this virus is a moving target,” Mkhize said on Twitter.

In the last 72 hours, three patients died from the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, at Netcare St Augustine’s Hospital in Durban.

In a statement issued by Netcare, CEO Dr Richard Friedland said two of the patients were first admitted to the hospital on March 9 and 13 respectively, and the third patient on March 14.

He said the patients did not have a history of recent international travel or known contact with a person who was Covid-19 positive, nor did they present with any symptoms of Covid-19 when they were screened on admission.

Friedland said they worked in close collaboration with the KwaZulu-Natal health department to take the precautionary decision to test all healthcare and support workers who may have come into contact with the three patients for Covid-19 infection.  

“We immediately put further measures in place, including the closure of the hospital’s emergency department and stopping all new admissions into the hospital,” said Friedland.

The Netcare group said that there was also a considerable initiative underway to reinforce all infection control precautions and formal monitoring of all precautions will be conducted several times a day. 

The group said they have taken the precautionary decision to increase the level of screening and testing of nursing, support and contracted staff, doctors, paramedics, as well as current patients at Netcare St Augustine’s Hospital, to determine whether or not they are clear of Covid-19 infection.  

“We have also set up a dedicated 24-hour information and support service which is being communicated to the families. Onsite and telephonic support services for all employees to use during this time of heightened concern has also been established,” Friedland said.

Meanwhile, Mkhize has this week confirmed coronavirus cases in at least five townships around the country. The cases were in Cape Town's Khayelitsha, Johannesburg's Alexandra and three Durban townships, uMlazi, KwaMashu and eMaoti.

“We have seen the enthusiasm and preparedness by the colleagues. We are in a good course. The key, however,is how we make sure the lockdown works. We need to flatten the curve and ensure that when flu season starts we need to be ready before that time comes,” Mkhize said at the time.

African News Agency