Days of unrest have left a trail of devastation in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces, with officials saying 800 retailers have been targeted.
Several clinics and schools have also been vandalised.
During clean-up operations in streets and shopping centres on Thursday, more bodies were discovered.
But authorities are confident that they have turned the corner in dealing with the mayhem.
An additional 5,000 soldiers were deployed on Thursday – to join the 2,500 deployed on Monday.
But KwaZulu-Natal, where the unrest began following the jailing last week of ex-President Jacob Zuma, remains volatile.
Johannesburg, the main city in Gauteng, is relatively calm, though the threat is far from over.
The BBC has seen vigilante groups there working with police to guard their local malls as looters mobilised themselves in the distance.
Elsewhere long lines have formed outside food shops, following shortages caused by the plundering.
Source: BBC
]]>