This archive report was first published on 8 June 2020.
Published on June 8, 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has called on citizens to come together in the 'long war' against the coronavirus as the country edges closer to the 1,000 death mark.
South Africa has recorded a total of 908 deaths and 43,434 positive cases of Covid-19, the highest infection rate in the continent.
President Ramaphosa visited the Western Cape province, the country's epicentre, where 28,807 people have tested positive for the virus and 704 have lost their lives.
He emphasized the need for an 'all hands on deck' approach in the battle to save lives, particularly in the Western Cape province, which accounts for 77 percent of the country's deaths.
As part of the country's efforts to combat the pandemic, R3 billion ($177 million) will be allocated to the Western Cape province to finance healthcare response.
A field hospital has been set up at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and is expected to admit its first patients on Monday.
Almost 2,000 healthcare workers in the Western Cape have contracted the virus, with 17 losing their lives, highlighting the need for more staff and beds at the field hospital.
President Ramaphosa stressed that 'staffing challenges must be solved' and that 'we must headhunt and find all those staff members that we need to bring in and the cost is not an issue here, but saving lives is the issue.'
