South Africa reports highest daily death toll related to COVID-19

South Africa on Friday reported 94 people died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest daily death toll, bringing the total nationwide deaths to 1,831.

The total number of confirmed cases in the country rose to 87,715, an increase of 3,825 from Thursday, and the total number of recoveries stood at 47,825, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in his daily update.

The latest figures came two days after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the re-opening of restaurants, beauty salons, cinemas, casinos and non-contact sports, a move that has sparked concern about growing infections.

The opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has lambasted the president for putting the economy above the lives of people, particularly the poor. The party threatened to sue Ramaphosa for the lives that were lost as a result of the easing of lockdown restrictions.

With spikes both in confirmed cases and related deaths, the country pins hope on dexamethasone, a steroid drug used since the 1960s.

According to British researchers, the drug cuts death rates by around a third among the most severely ill COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.

Mkhize said his ministry is in a position to immediately offer patients dexamethasone, adding South Africa has a good capacity of the medication which is manufactured locally.

Earlier, the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 issued an advisory to recommend the drug, or a similar medication, to patients on ventilators.

Trial results showed that the benefit of dexamethasone was only seen in patients seriously ill with COVID-19 and was not observed in patients with milder conditions.

Dexamethasone, a well-known and widely used steroid which has potent anti-inflammatory properties, is used to treat allergic reactions, asthma and other conditions where the inflammatory component of the disease needs to be controlled for better outcomes.

But some doctors are cautious, citing possible side effects and asking to see more data.