JOHANNESBURG - South Africa on Thursday confirmed a case of coronavirus, the health ministry said, the country's first case of the deadly disease sweeping through the world. 'The National Institute for Communicable Diseases confirmed that a suspected case of COVID-19 has tested positive,' the 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.