South Africa’s confirmed number of coronavirus cases rose to 554 on Tuesday from 402 a day earlier, as businesses raced to make plans for a nationwide lockdown from midnight on Thursday. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the 21-day lockdown in response to curb the spread of the outbreak. South Africa has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in sub-Saharan Africa, and public health experts are worried that the virus could overwhelm the health system if infection rates rise steeply. Health officials are working to expand the country’s coronavirus testing capacity and develop a plan to ensure there are enough intensive care beds with respirators. Aviation company Comair, a franchise partner of British Airways (BA), said it was suspending all flights it operates for BA and services on the kulula.com low-cost airline from Thursday until April 19. Tsogo Sun Gaming said its casinos and bingo sites would be closed by Wednesday. A bargaining council for the clothing manufacturing industry said it had reached a collective agreement for guaranteed pay for 80,000 workers for six weeks.
SOURCE: CNBC AFRICA