As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country continues to rise, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has warned that the taxi industry’s decision to violate lockdown regulations amounts to creating COVID-19 death traps.
Mkhize says he is disappointed by an industry-wide decision to fill taxis to full capacity and reopen inter-provincial travel from Monday.
Minister Mkhize updating on the latest COVID-19 numbers:
In the last 24 hours, another 6 334 new cases have been confirmed in the country, bringing the cumulative number since March to 138 134.
The total number of deaths now stands at 2 456, after another 43 people died of COVID-19 related complications.
Mkhize has advised taxi commuters to refrain from getting into overloaded taxis.
“I am very concerned because actually somewhere along the line South Africans need to understand that government is not just making rules we trying to save the nation from rapidly increasing infection its actually very unfortunate because to think now as the numbers are increasing wait for another 2 to three weeks you are going to see the increase the impact of the filling up of the taxis.”
As at 27 June the majority of hospitalised patients were admitted in Western cape at 36%
(1629), Gauteng at 26% (1 164) and Eastern Cape at 17% (775), the Department reported.
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South Africa recorded the biggest one-day COVID-19 spike so far on Saturday. 7 210 people tested positive for the virus, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the country to 131 800 on Saturday.
As at today, the total number of confirmed #COVID19 cases is 138 134, the total number of deaths is 2456 and recoveries stand at 68 925. pic.twitter.com/5x7vaMThRF
— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) June 28, 2020
