Police Minister Bheki Cele has confirmed that 1 685 law enforcement officers have tested positive for the coronavirus. He says 14 officers have died of COVID-19.
Cele was speaking in Soweto where police and soldiers were out in their numbers at a roadblock to enforce compliance.
“We as the South African police, as you know, we are in the frontline and we still suffer. We’ve got about 1 685 members nationally that have been affected, unfortunately, a big part of them are in the Western Cape at 1 034. Here in Gauteng, we’ve got 119, in the Eastern Cape 186, KZN we’ve got 53 with 14 deaths altogether, and we are saluting those that are dying on the frontline, trying to defend and to make sure that all South Africans are safe,” says Cele.
South Africa has a total of 65 736 COVID-19 cases and 1 423 COVID-19 related deaths.
The Western Cape remains the province with the most confirmed cases of COVID-19, accounting for 61.8% of the country’s total, having recorded 40 605 infections. The province is followed by Gauteng with 9 897 new cases, accounting for 15.1% of SA’s total cases.
South Africa has recorded 36 850 recoveries, which translates to a recovery rate of 56%. Currently, the country has 27 463 active cases.
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[JUST IN ] 1685 @SAPoliceService members have tested positive from #COVID19 The police service has lost 14 members to the virus. pic.twitter.com/0mOCNW9aYx
— Lirandzu Themba (@LirandzuThemba) June 13, 2020
