JOHANNESBOURG | Some 24,000 health workers in South Africa have been infected with the new coronavirus since the pandemic began in March and 181 have died from it, South African Health Minister Zweli Mkwize said on Wednesday.
This figure of 24,000 people affected represents about 5% of the total number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa, the minister said at a press conference.
With 521,318 confirmed cases, including more than 8,000 deaths, South Africa is the most affected country on the African continent. On its own, it has recorded more than half of the cases of the new coronavirus in Africa.
It is also the fifth country in the world most affected by the pandemic in terms of confirmed cases, but the official number of deaths is vastly underestimated, experts have warned.
Between 40,000 and 50,000 people could die from COVID-19 by the end of the year in the country, according to official projections.
South Africa imposed one of the strictest lockdowns in the world at the end of March, before easing it. Faced with the explosion of contaminations, schools have once again been closed for a month and a night curfew has been reinstated.