S. Africa's coronavirus fatalities exceed 30,000

JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in South Africa due to COVID-19 on Monday surpassed the 30,000 mark to reach 30,011, said Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.

This came after 434 fatalities were recorded over the past 24 hours.

Both Western (157) and Eastern Cape (133) continued recording more deaths than other provinces.

A total of 12,601 new infections were detected during the same period, which brought the cumulative number of confirmed cases to 1,113,349.

These figures mean South Africa has registered the most infections and fatalities compared to other nations in Africa.

Tighter lockdown measures to curb the spread of infections in the second wave were re-introduced last week, including a ban on alcohol sale and gatherings as well as the closure of beaches.