KwaDukuza recorded its first cornavirus-related death on Tuesday as the country entered day five of its 21-day lockdown in a bid to halt the spread of the disease.

Shaka’s Head ward 28 councillor, Doeshee Govender told the Courier the death had been confirmed to the municipality by the Ilembe disitrict command council, however the Courier has not been able to receive official confirmation from the heath department who said they were following up on its veracity.

This will bring the number of recorded death in the province to three and six nationally.

The Courier could not verify if this had been a local infection or whether he had recently travelled abroad.

The man was buried under Muslim burial rites.

According to Islamic Burial Council (IBC) chairman, Salim Kazi, they received news of the coronavirus-related death in the early hours of Tuesday, March 31.

The elderly man died at home. The burial took place on Tuesday and was carried out by the IBC task team.

“We do confirm that we had the first Muslim case of Covid-19 and followed the protocol and regulations set down by the health department. The department said they were highly impressed with the way that we handled this,” said Kazi.

No further details about this case have been released. The publication contacted the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the Department of Health (DOH) for more information but they were unable to provide any.

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in SA has surpassed the 1000 mark with 176 confirmed cases in KZN.

South Africa also has the most virus cases in Africa, with the total across the continent now above 3200.

More than 35 000 people have died worldwide from the coronavirus pandemic since it emerged late last year in China.

KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said the provincial department of health has increased tracer teams in districts to almost 2000 assisted by the Red Cross, Social Development and volunteer NGOs.

“There is also a clear strategy to ensure that there is adequate medication available in hospitals and clinics,” she said.

To reduce the burden on the hospitals, the department has trained ward-based health teams.

The number of beds available has also been increased with the support of the private sector. In every town, quarantine sites have been identified. These include both private and Ezemvelo facilities.

According to the department a total of 19 cases are being investigated against individuals who have violated the disaster regulations.

The public is advised to call the coronavirus hotline on 0800 029 999 with any suspected cases of corona, or to report or obtain information relevant to the pandemic.

* Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news

Dear reader,

As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments.

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