Day 49 of the nationwide lockdown,
35 million Covid-19 infections globally, almost 300 thousand deaths and over 1.5 million people have recovered
12 074 people confirmed positive in South Africa
724 new cases in the past 24 hours – 608 of those new cases recorded in the Western Cape
16655 tests concluded in the last 24 hours
219 people have died of the virus in SA
Confirmed COVID outbreaks in three Cape Town old age homes –Nazereth house, Highlands House and a home in Strand have all confirmed cases
President Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Wednesday night
He says there are 354 quarantine sites with more than 25 thousand beds nationwide
9 million people screened, 370 thousand referred for tests, and testing has been ramped up
Level three to end by the end of May for most of South Africa, with hotspots staying at level four – based on the spread of the disease and the readiness of the health services
Level 4 to have some restrictions relaxed - exercise, and businesses like e-commerce expected to open up
The president admitted govt has made mistakes and will try and amend those.
· WHO's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told the Financial Times ‘the virus may never go away’ Without a vaccine, it could take four to five years to control the COVID-19 outbreak