Western Cape premier Alan Winde on Friday said the two patients reported by health minister Zweli Mkhize to have succumbed to Covid-19 were women.
“The 48-year-old woman’s condition worsened while in ICU, and she passed away this morning [Friday],” Winde said.

“The 28 year-old was admitted to hospital [on Thursday] and received emergency health care. She also passed away this morning. The clinical picture is consistent with Covid-19 but we are awaiting the test results to confirm this,” Winde said.The health ministry had earlier said one of the women died in a private hospital while the other died in a public facility.

The news comes as the number of coronavirus infections went past the 1,000 mark on Friday.

Winde sent his condolences to the families of those who died and called for a moment of silence at midday Friday.He called on South Africans to abide by the lockdown laws put in place to curb the spread of the virus.

“As we all strive to stop its spread, by each making the decision to stay at home until it becomes absolutely necessary to pop out for absolute essentials, let’s have in our minds the lives we will each save if we all work together,” he said.

“We are staying home for ourselves, our family and friends, our grandmas and grandpas, for the health-care workers who are facing this virus head on and need our help to flatten the curve, and for our fellow men and women across South Africa,” he added.