In a short statement nine hours into the official 21 day lock-down, health minister Zweli Mkhize said two people had died as a result of Covid-19.

“This morning, we wake South Africans up with sad news that we now have our first deaths resulting from Covid-19.

“These two deaths occurred in the Western Cape. One at a private hospital and the other at a public hospital,” Mkhize said in a statement.

“We will give more details later on,” he said.

The health ministry also announced that by Friday morning, the number of positive coronavirus infections around the country had surpassed 1,000.