Number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa rises to 16

JOHANNESBURG 

South Africa announced Thursday that the number of people in the country who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus has reached 16 as the deadly virus spreads across the continent.

“As of March 12, 16 people have tested positive for COVID-19,” the Health Department said in a statement, adding cases have now been reported in four of the country’s nine provinces.

The latest cases include a 38-year-old man from the coastal city of Durban who lives in Turkey but was visiting his mother in South Africa.

Another patient is a 27-year-old woman from Mpumalanga province who had traveled

Read more: Number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa rises to 16