Johannesburg (People’s Daily) - South Africa Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has confirmed that South Africa's first suspected case of COVID-19 has tested positive.

File photo: CGTN

Mkhize said Thursday that the National Institute for Communicable Diseases confirmed a positive test.

"The patient is a 38-year-old male who travelled to Italy with his wife. They were part of a group of 10 people and they arrived back in South Africa on March 1," Mkhize said in the statement.

"The patient consulted a private general practitioner on March 3 with symptoms of fever, headache, malaise, a sore throat and a cough."