By Staff Reporter
The Free State has recorded its first case of the novel coronavirus, as South Africa’s tally rose to 17.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize today confirmed a 32-year-old man who had come into contact with a Chinese businessman tested positive for the coronavirus in the province.
The patient had not travelled abroad, which means he becomes the first local transmission of the virus on South African shores.
“This is the first case of local transmission as all others have been by patients who had travelled abroad,” Mkhize said.
Apart from the Free State, the minister also revealed Mpumalanga had also recorded its first case of the coronavirus, while two more new patients were confirmed in the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
Until today, there had been 13 confirmed cases of the virus confined to the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Western Cape.
Mkhize also said the government had noted the announcement by the World Health Organisation that the coronavirus, or Covid-19, was now a pandemic.
“A pandemic is a worldwide spread of a new disease. Today, 12 March 2020, South Africa now has 17 confirmed cases of Covid-19. This is an additional four cases from Wednesday,” he said.
As of today, 126 656 cases and 4 640 deaths have been recorded globally as the virus continues to wreak havoc worldwide.
Coronavirus is a respiratory illness caused by a new virus, with its symptoms ranging from a mild cough to pneumonia.
Some people recover easily, while others may get very sick very quickly.
Many of those initially infected either worked or frequently shopped in the Huanan seafood wholesale market in the centre of the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Unusually for a virus that has made the jump from one species to another, it appears to transmit effectively in humans – current estimates show that without strong containment measures the average person who catches Covid-19 will pass it on to two others.
The virus also appears to have a higher mortality rate than common illnesses such as seasonal flu.
Good hygiene can prevent infection.