South Africa has recorded its first two COVID-19 deaths with the number of confirmed cases surpassing the 1000 mark on Friday.
Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize, confirmed the setback as the southern African country began its 21-day nationwide lockdown.
"These two deaths occurred in the Western Cape. One at a private hospital and the other at a public hospital," Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said.
Gauteng province, which includes the capital Pretoria and Johannesburg, continues to record a high number of cases of coronavirus.
By thursday, Gauteng accounted for 409 cases out of 927.
In what could be a major setback, the Department of Health is searching for people who have tested positive for the virus but are now nowhere to be found.
Gauteng health member of the executive committee (MEC), Dr Bandile Masuku, called on people who had tested for COVID-19 at private laboratories in the province to check their results.The MEC said his department was struggling to get a hold of people who had been tested to give them their results.
He said his concern was that those who tested positive could be infecting others without knowing their status. "One of the bigger problems that we have is the issue of those who have been in contact with them. I think in the forms that they've submitted to the laboratories, they don't put their physical addresses. It becomes difficult to trace them and the contacts that they might have had," Mr Masuku said.
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