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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Cases of coronavirus in South Africa passed 1,000 on Friday, the health ministry said, while also reporting its first two deaths on the first day of a three-week, nationwide lockdown. 



South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the lockdown, which saw Africa’s most industrialised economy largely shudder to a halt overnight, earlier this week. 



“This morning, we South Africans wake up with sad news that we now have our first deaths resulting from COVID-19,” the health ministry said in a statement, adding cases had risen to more than 1,000, from 927 on Thursday. 



Both deaths had occurred in the southernmost province of Western Cape, with one in a public hospital and the other in a private hospital, the statement read. 



The 21-day lockdown came into force at midnight on Thursday, and largely confines people to their homes aside from specific purposes like buying food or for health emergencies. 



However, local media on Friday morning showed pictures of bustling streets and long queues outside supermarkets in poor townships &#8211; where cramped, squalid conditions make social distancing near impossible, and mean the virus could spread quickly among people reliant on an ailing public health system. 



(Reporting by Emma Rumney; Editing by Tim Cocks)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN21E0YX-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN21E0YX-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.



For more coverage on COVID-19 visit: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a>

S.Africa COVID-19 cases exceed 1,000, first two dead reported

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While people across South Africa are contributing 67 minutes of doing good to celebrate Nelson Mandela&#8217;s 67 years of activism, CNBC Africa&#8217;s Aviwe Mtila caught up with the leader of the Democratic Alliance to find out how he spent his. Mmusi Maimane also spoke of inequality in the Western Cape, where the DA governs, saying it&#8217;s rife across the country.

DA’s Mmusi Maimane on inequality in the Western Cape

Western Cape premier Helen Zille declared the province a disaster area on Monday and urged residents to manage their water supplies more efficiently as the South African region tries to cope with what she described as the &#8220;worst drought since 1904&#8221;.
South Africa remains in the grip of a drought that is not expected to ease soon, with the El Nino weather pattern, which faded in May of 2016, forecast to reform again around September.
<blockquote>&#8220;The disaster declaration will accelerate the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre&#8217;s Project &#8216;Avoiding Day Zero&#8217;, the province&#8217;s strategy to ensure that taps do not run dry,&#8221; Premier Zille said in a statement, adding that the declaration is no cause for panic.</blockquote>
The Western Cape, known for the port city of Cape Town set beneath Table Mountain and winelands in towns like Stellenbosch, does not have enough water tankers to supply residents despite recent heavy rains.
To deal with the water crisis, the drilling of boreholes will take place in hospitals and schools in high-risk areas. Zille&#8217;s statement added that drilling into the Table Mountain aquifer will also take place.
<blockquote>&#8220;Funding will be reprioritised provincially and, should further assistance be needed, the province will approach National Treasury and the National Department of Water and Sanitation,&#8221; the statement said.</blockquote>
The declaration comes a week after the City of Cape Town recommended a level-four water restriction after dam levels reached 21.2 percent.
In 2015, drought-hit northern Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces were declared disaster areas for agriculture, including the sugar-growing province of KwaZulu-Natal and the maize-growing Free State and North West provinces.
The provincial government urged residents to continue with the current water saving measures and to adhere to the restrictions imposed in their respective municipalities.
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

Western Cape

Focus On: SA investment proposition into Middle East investors

Focus On: Africa’s competitive advantage: Growing together in a fragmented world

Focus On: Africa’s competitive advantage: Finding growth opportunities

Focus On: Africa’s competitive advantage: Finding growth opportunities

S.Africa COVID-19 cases exceed 1,000, first two dead reported

DA’s Mmusi Maimane on inequality in the Western Cape

South Africa declares Western Cape province a drought disaster area

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Western Cape

Focus On: SA investment proposition into Middle East investors

Focus On: Africa’s competitive advantage: Growing together in a fragmented world

Focus On: Africa’s competitive advantage: Finding growth opportunities

Focus On: Africa’s competitive advantage: Finding growth opportunities

S.Africa COVID-19 cases exceed 1,000, first two dead reported

DA’s Mmusi Maimane on inequality in the Western Cape

South Africa declares Western Cape province a drought disaster area

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