By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa has surpassed 1.7 million of confirmed Covid-19 cases,the health ministry said on Tuesday.
This is an increase of 4,209 new infections in the past 24 hours.
SA is now the 19th-ranked country in the world in terms of total confirmed infections. The US tops the list with more than 34.2 million, followed by India (just short of 29 million) and Brazil (just short of 19 million).
The ministry said there were 120 new Covid-19 related deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total fatalities to 57,183.
For the epidemiological numbers we will post a link to the NICD dashboard. The link is as follows:
https://sacoronavirus.co.za/live-counter/.
For the PDF of the vaccination numbers, these can be found on:
https://sacoronavirus.co.za/latest-vaccine-statistics/
Meanwhile President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed minister of health Dr Zweli Mkhize on special leave while the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) conducts investigations into allegations of corruption at the health department.
“This period of special leave will enable the minister to attend to allegations and investigations concerning contracts between the Department of Health and a service provider – Digital Vibes,” the presidency said.
“The Special Investigating Unit is investigating this matter and the president awaits a report on the outcome of this probe.”
Minister of tourism Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane will serve as acting minister of health until further notice.
Mkhize has been under scrutiny after the health department awarded a R150 million contract to Digital Vibes, a company controlled by two of Mkhize’s former aides, to help communicate the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The money was largely wasted and proper procurement processes weren’t followed, news website Daily Maverick reported.
Special Investigative Unit was appointed to probe the matter, and on 26 May Mkhize told reporters the deal was irregular and disciplinary action would be taken against those responsible.
While describing public outrage as “justified,” he denied playing any role in the contract award or that he was friends with the people working there. He also denied benefitting in any way from the contract or Digital Vibes.
However,reports have pointed to how Digital Vibes paid for maintenance work on the minister’s home, as well as giving hundreds of thousands of rands to Mhize’s son’s business.
The SIU plans to complete its investigation this month.
Mkhize has been health minister since 2018 and led South Africa’s campaign against COVID-19.