SA recorded 74 Covid-19 related deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed fatalities past 19,500.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Tuesday night that of the 74 deaths, 10 were reported to have occurred in the past 24 to 48 hours. The remaining 64 were historical deaths that had been confirmed since the release on Monday's figures.

It means there are now 19,539 confirmed deaths linked to the respiratory illness.

Mkhize also announced that 1,241 new cases of Covid-19 recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the tally of confirmed infections to 728,836. There were also 659,249 recoveries, at a recovery rate of 90%.

The figures are based on 4,868,610 total tests, with 15,692 of them in the most recent 24-hour cycle.

TimesLIVE