MARCH 2020 - COVID 19 update
On 5 March 2020, Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize confirmed the spread of the virus to South Africa, with the first known patient being a male citizen who tested positive upon his return from Italy. (This was a person who lived at Golf Course 1 in Mt Edgecombe. At the time, you were living at Golf Course 2)
On 7 March, it was announced that a woman from the same travel group from Italy, returning to Gauteng, also tested positive.
On 11 March 6 new cases were reported, with 1 case from the same travel group from Italy, while the other 5 cases appear unrelated having travel histories to other European countries. The first case was confirmed in the Western Cape province.
3 new cases were announced on 12 March, including the first case in Mpumalanga province. This brought the total cases to 16.
On 15 March, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared a national state of disaster, and announced measures such as immediate travel restrictions and the closure of schools from 18 March.
On
17 March, the National Corona Virus Command Council was
established, "to lead the nation's plan to contain the spread and mitigate
the negative impact of the coronavirus".
On
23 March, a national lock down was announced, starting on 26
March 2020.
The first two deaths to have occurred from the disease were reported on 27 March 2020.
There were 1,353 confirmed cases in March. Five patients died and 31 recovered, while 1,317 remained active cases at the end of the month
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