Celebrities and well known people who have been diagnosed with Covid-19

South Africa is five days into its 21-day national lockdown as a measure to stop the spread of coronavirus. As other countries on the continent roll out their lockdowns, South Africans have received the news that there have been five confirmed deaths due to the virus and a total of 1,353 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country.

The virus has spread worldwide and many well-known people who have contracted it are coming forward to disclose that they have it in a bid to inform and educate others.

In SA, members of the sporting fraternity, religious community and the political sphere have come forward to state that they have Covid-19. These people are:

Netball SA (NSA) president Cecilia Molokwane who  tested positive for Covid-19 after travelling abroad on 2023 World Cup business to the United Kingdom.

South African golfer Victor Lange,  who is ranked 1,215th in the world, was diagnosed with Covid-19  after returning from an event in Mexico on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica circuit.

Evangelist pastor Angus Buchan also tested positive for Covid-19 and announced it on Facebook.

Another religious figure in the country, Reverend Kenneth Meshoe, the leader of the African Christian Democratic Party, has tested positive for Covid-19 alongside the party's chief whip in the National Assembly, Steve Swart. The two had attended a prayer breakfast at the Divine Restoration Ministries in Ribblesdale, Bloemfontein, on March 10 and 11.

And on Tuesday evening, former Western Cape ANC chairperson Marius Fransman made the announcement in a Facebook post that he had tested positive for Covid-19. Fransman had also travelled abroad and stated that he was in hospital but doing fine, and he urged those that he had been in contact with to get tested.

Abroad the first few cases of celebrities contracting the virus were met with shock, the most prolific being that of actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson. They have both recovered after treatment and isolation.

Next was British actor Idris Elba who shocked everyone by stating that he didn’t show any symptoms but still tested positive. The world later found out that his wife Sabrina Dhowre also had the virus.

After that many celebrities came forward; people like TV host Andy Cohen,  Hawaii Five-0  star Daniel Dae Kim , British prime minister Boris Johnson, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, convicted rapist and former film producer Harvey Weinstein, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the wife of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, NBA player Kevin Durant , Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta  and actor Kristofer Hivju, who played the role of Tormund Giantsbane in the HBO series Game of Thrones.