Scientists for South African Covid-19 Modelling Consortium set up to help government planning over the outbreak have said the country could record 40,000 deaths over the coming months.
The scientist’s predictions are subject to change as more data becomes available, and assume the current restrictions will be relaxed from 1 June.
According to scientists, there could be 1.2 million Covid-19 cases in total, and intensive care units could be overwhelmed within weeks.
The politics of Covid-19 and scientific rivalry have intensified in South Africa. The opposition Democratic Alliance is taking the government to court, arguing that the stringent lockdown regulations are unwarranted and the ban on alcohol and tobacco sales should be lifted.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed by Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize to have spread to South Africa on 5 March 2020, with the known first patient being a South African returning from Italy.
Confirmed cases were 18,003 as of 20 May 2020 with Recovered 8,950 and Deaths recorded is 339.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Kofi Atakora
