Eastern Cape Now Second Biggest COVID-19 Hotspot

The Eastern Cape has surpassed Gauteng with the number of COVID-19 cases, making it the second biggest hotspot in the country after the Western Cape.

The province has recorded 4,342 infections as of on Tuesday. Gauteng’s number of cases stands at 4,276, while the Western Cape remains the epicentre with 23,583.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said the total number of infections in the country had increased to 35,812.

“At this stage, 761,534 tests have been done of which in the past 24 hours, 18,792 tests have been done.”

Meanwhile, the Eastern Cape COVID-19 command council said that it was satisfied with a report on the provincial health department’s management of the pandemic.

A total of 191 healthcare workers in the Eastern Cape’s public and private health sectors have tested positive for COVID-19.

These are essential services workers facing the coronavirus head-on and need all precautionary measures in place to do so safely.

Provincial health officials say they have over 18 million aprons, more than 750,000 goggles and face shields and over 700,000 N95 masks available.

A forecast shows between April and October, the Health Department will need more than 4.1 million aprons, nearly 6 million biohazard bags and just over 5.2 million N95 masks.

So far, more than 56,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 in the Eastern Cape.

For official information about COVID-19 from the Department of Health, please click here.

EWN