President Ramaphosa to address SA as COVID-19 cases hit 402

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to address the nation over the COVID-19 spread.

This comes even as the health ministry announced an increase in the cases of the virus.

Health Minister Dr. Zwelini Mkhize on Monday said so far the cases have increased to 402.

"Fellow South Africans, as of today, South Africa now has 402 cases of COVID-19. This means there has been an increase of 128 from yesterday’s announcement," Mikhize said in a statement.

The Minister said it is notable that the Northern Cape has its first confirmed cases. "As has been announced, His Excellency, President MC Ramaphosa will address the nation on measures to be undertaken to mitigate the impact of COVID-19," he said.

The minister said, they will thereafter engage the public to give further details and explanations on the results including the significant rise, the ongoing testing processes, each province’s progress on contact tracing efforts.

South Africa reported its first case on March 5, after a man who had visited Italy tested positive.

"The National Institute for Communicable Diseases confirmed that a suspected case of COVID-19 has tested positive," the health ministry said.

"The patient is a 38-year-old male who traveled to Italy with his wife. They were part of a group of 10 people and they arrived back in South Africa on March 1, 2020," it added.

So far there are over 1,572 confirmed cases in Africa with 47 deaths.

South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Morrocco, Burkina Faso and Senegal are among those with over 50 cases.

Western Sahara, Mali, Libya, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Malawi and Burundi are among those that have not reported any case.

Kenya reported its first case on March 13 and now has 15 cases.