Coronavirus: 2-year-old returning to South Africa from NZ tests positive

The youngest among new cases on the Western Cape is a two-year-old boy who had recently returned from New Zealand. Photo / 123RF

A 2-year-old boy has tested positive for coronavirus in South Africa - he had just returned from New Zealand.

Yesterday, The South African news website reported a surge in cases in the country in a window of 24 hours, with the number of cases rising to 116 from 62.

The Western Cape had registered another 10 cases overnight, the online publication said.

"The youngest is a 2-year-old boy who had recently returned from New Zealand," it read.

It comes amid news that the first suspected case of Covid-19 has reached Samoa, with a Kiwi traveller hospitalised and awaiting test results.

The island nation's government said in a statement that the Ministry of Health is investigating one patient for Covid-19.

"This is a suspected case only."

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The patient, who is in a stable condition, was admitted to hospital today after experiencing flu-like symptoms for two days.

They are at the TTM Hospital and are being cared for separately from other patients.

Eight new cases were confirmed in New Zealand yesterday, the largest increase in any day, taking the total to 20.

The new cases are spread across the country - four in Auckland, two in the Waikato, one in Canterbury, one Dunedin and one in Invercargill.

"This is not a time for panic," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said soon after the new cases were revealed. "It is a time for preparation."

Ardern urged anyone who had arrived back in the country in the past fortnight to go into self-isolation, even if they arrived before the requirement for self-isolation.