The number of Covid-19 cases in South African has risen to 51, with 13 new cases identified since Saturday, Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize announced on Sunday.

Seven new cases were reported in Gauteng, one in KwaZulu-Natal and five in the Western Cape.

Currently, all those who have tested positive are people who travelled to other countries before returning South Africa.Here is a breakdown of the 13 new cases confirmed on Sunday:

GAUTENG: 7

A 60-year-old male who had travelled to Iran.
A 36-year-old male who had travelled to the UK
A 54-year-old male who had travelled to Switzerland
A 27-year-old male who had travelled to the UK
A 21-year-old female who had travelled to Germany
A 53-year-old female who had travelled to Germany
A 29-year-old male who had travelled to Switzerland
WESTERN CAPE: 5

A 35-year-old female who had travelled to Germany and Austria
A 42-year-old female who had travelled to Spain, Switzerland and the UK
A 50-year-old male who had travelled to the Netherlands
A 33-year-old male who had travelled to Switzerland
A 35-year-old male who had travelled to Austria

With the Easter weekend less than a month away, the department of health in KwaZulu-Natal has partnered with religious leaders across the province to create awareness about the coronavirus.“Mainline religious leaders from all over the province agreed to partner with the department and help disseminate crucial messages about Covid-19. This messaging will focus on how the virus can be prevented, what its symptoms are, and what those who exhibit these symptoms need to do to get help,” MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said in a statement.

Simelane-Zulu met church leaders in a bid to create awareness about the novel coronavirus. She urged worshippers to maintain proper hygiene and said church leaders made a commitment to spread the message to their congregants to take precautionary measures during the upcoming Easter weekend and beyond“This includes maintaining social distancing for those who will be sleeping in tents, classrooms or community halls; and following good personal hygiene such as covering the nose and mouth with the elbow when coughing or sneezing, regular handwashing with an alcohol-based hand sanitiser or soap and water, ensuring ventilation, wiping of surfaces and desisting from sharing bathing materials and utensils.”

Out of the 24 South Africans who have tested positive for the coronavirus so far, the province leads with 10 cases. Gauteng also has 10 confirmed cases while the Western Cape has three cases and Mpumalanga one case.

Simelane-Zulu appealed for calm and added that the department would be intensifying its efforts to distribute information, education, and communication material to help keep the public informed.

Three men have been arrested for trying to bribe a detective to make an attempted murder case disappear.
Image: 123RF/jirkaejc
Three men have been arrested by Western Cape police for offering a R20,000 bribe to a detective to make an attempted murder case go away.

Police said the bribe was made after a victim was shot and wounded in Joe Slovo Park, Milnerton, on March 4.

“The detective in the case followed up on leads and identified the man who allegedly shot and wounded the victim. Three men of Somali origin arranged to meet with the officer and offered him a bribe of R20,000 for him to make the matter go away.

“Recognising that the suspects offered money in return for the disappearance of the docket, the member ‘agreed’ to the arrangement, and reported the matter to his commanders,” police said.

A meeting was arranged for March 12 at which the investigating officer was handed a cash amount of R5,000.

“Three suspects were thereafter arrested and are expected to appear in court once charged for bribery and one of the three is also facing an attempted murder charge,” police said.

Load-shedding has been reduced to stage 1 due to increased generating capacity with Koeberg Unit 1 coming back on stream.
Image: 123RF/choneschones
Eskom reduced load-shedding to stage 1 from noon on Saturday owing to an improvement in generating capacity with Koeberg Unit 1 coming back on stream.

Stage 1 load-shedding will continue until 11pm on Saturday.

“Due to improvement in the generation system performance, coupled with low weekend demand, Eskom will implement Stage 1 load-shedding from 12:00 until 23:00. This is a reduction from Stage 2 load-shedding, which started at 07:00,” the electricity provider said.

It added that Koeberg Unit 1 had been safely synchronised onto the grid, which had helped increase generation capacity and to ease the scale of load-shedding.

The power utility did not say whether load-shedding would resume on Sunday.

It switched from stage 4 to stage 3 load-shedding on Friday afternoon.

A Joburg mother has tested positive for coronavirus after returning from a business trip to Zambia. Stock photo.
Image: 123RF/Jarun Ontakrai
The Ridgeway Muslim School, south of Johannesburg, announced on Saturday that they were closing after a mother of two children attending the school tested positive for Covid-19.

In a letter to parents the school said the family was in quarantine, but that the children had not displayed any symptoms.

“As a precautionary measure the board of RMS has closed the school until further notice.”

Meanwhile the mother who has tested positive sent a response on a school group after the school mailer to say that there were a few inconsistencies in the school’s notice.

She said her children were in Gr5 and Gr9.

“I can see the panic that has arisen… Firstly, the NICD [National Institute for Communicable Diseases] has confirmed that I need to communicate to each of you that no one needs to be in quarantine or needs to be tested. You or your children. My children are asymptomatic and do not have the virus based on their checks.

“They are in quarantine with me at home for 14 days simply as a precaution.”

She said she was diagnosed late on Friday night and contacted by the Department of Health.

She said after the notice by the school the Department contacted her “regarding the inaccuracies that appear on the school circular”.

The woman said she was diagnosed two weeks ago with bronchitis and had been cleared of coronavirus by two separate doctors.

She said a week ago she went on a business trip to Zambia and upon her return had a slight cough. She attributed this to her bronchitis.

“I must state that the doctor gave me the all clear to travel as Africa is low risk. Because of the recent hype, I decided to do a test as I travel to local neighbouring countries for work. I was completely shocked when I got the results last night as I have no flu symptoms tied with the virus.”

She said the family was advised to remain in quarantine as a precaution and that her children showed no signs of the virus. They will be tested twice at the end of the quarantined period before returning to work.

“We are trying our best to be positive and I hope that this message has helped you understand the situation… I am currently in shock and am making lots of Du’a [a prayer of supplication] for your kids, mine and anyone I may have come into contact with,” she said.