South Africa has recorded over 1,540,000 Covid-19 cases since the first case last year, after 1,048 people tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the death toll has reached 52,372 after 121 patients succumbed to the respiratory disease. Of the latest fatalities, the Free State and Limpopo provinces recorded 38 deaths each in the last 24 hours.
Also, 24 deaths were recorded in Gauteng, eight in the Northern Cape, five in KwaZulu-Natal and four each in the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga.
The recovery rate is still holding steady at 95% after 1,466,595 patients beat Covid-19 since the outbreak, with 21,042 active cases currently under treatment.
KwaZulu-Natal remains the hardest-hit province, with 5,614 patients who are currently infected.
The province is followed by the Western Cape with 4 816 active cases, 2 573 in the Northern Cape, 2 490 in Gauteng, 2 151 in the North West, 1 524 in Free State, 941 in Mpumalanga and 725 in Limpopo.
The information is based on the 9 690 819 cumulative tests of which 25 155 were performed since the last reporting cycle.
