Fourteen more people have died from Covid-19 in SA, the health ministry confirmed on Thursday.

In what is the single biggest jump in the number of deaths since the outbreak in SA, minister Dr Zweli Mkhize confirmed that the country's death toll was now up to 48.

There were also now 2,605 cases of the respiratory illness, an increase of 99 from the day before.

“As at today [Thursday], the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in SA is 2,605. We also note that the number of tests being conducted continues to rise, with the total number of tests conducted to date being 95,060.

“It is with regret that we inform the public that the Covid-19 related deaths is now 48. We note that two provinces, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, have also recorded their first deaths,” said Mkhize.

Details of the additional deaths were not provided.

The most deaths have been recorded in KwaZulu-Natal (20), followed by the Western Cape (13), Gauteng (6), the Eastern Cape and Free State (4 each), and Limpopo (1).

Mkhize also announced that there had been 903 recorded recoveries from the illness, which is caused by the coronavirus.

Gauteng was still the country's hotspot in terms of cases, with 969. The Western Cape had 675 cases, KZN had 539, the Eastern Cape 220, Free State 98, Limpopo 26, North West 24, Mpumalanga 22, and the Northern Cape had 16. There were also 16 unallocated cases.

In terms of recoveries, Gauteng had 479, the Western Cape 205, KZN 96, the Free State 71, Limpopo 18, the North West 10, the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga had 9 each and the Northern Cape had 6.