COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed by Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize to have spread to South Africa on 5 March 2020. The first known case was a South African returning from Italy.

Response
On 15 March, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared a national state of disaster, and announced measures like travel restrictions and the closure of schools from 18 March. 

On 17 March, Ramaphosa formed the National Command Council on COVID-19, "to lead the nation's plan to contain the spread and mitigate the negative impact of the coronavirus". 

The parliament of South Africa suspended all activities on 18 March. Both the African National Congress and Democratic Alliance postponed their respective elective congresses.

On 23 March, a national lockdown was announced, starting on 26 March 2020. On 9 April, Ramaphosa announced that it would be extended until the end of April.

On 21 April, a 500 billion rand stimulus was announced in response to the pandemic. 

On 23 April, Ramaphosa announced that the lockdown restrictions would slowly be phased out. Level 4 started on 1 May. On 1 June, the country entered level 3.

Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, extended the state of disaster on 3 June. It ended on 4 July.

Testing
150px|thumb|left|A COVID-19 testing tent at the Paarl Provincial Hospital
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) started testing people in South Africa for SARS-CoV-2 on 28 January 2020.

By the middle of March, state hospitals were offering free COVID-19 testing.

On 11 June, the Health Department said that over 1 million tests had been completed.

Numbers
, the median age of people with laboratory-confirmed cases was 38 years, and  the median age of patients who died was 64.

, there were  confirmed cases and  confirmed deaths, as well as  recoveries.

, there were  confirmed cases and  confirmed deaths, as well as  recoveries.

References

Category:2020s in South Africa
South Africa