Staff Reporter
There was less activity in the emergency units of all hospitals in the Free State over the New Year’s holidays as a result of the nationwide night curfew and a ban on alcohol sales.
“It was a quiet and peaceful New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day,” said Health MEC Montseng Tsiu in a statement.
“We are usually up and about on the province’s five national roads that connect the six surrounding provinces and the kingdom of Lesotho.
“As a province at the centre of the country we are usually at our busiest during these days and often experience fatal accidents, but this time around, it has been different.”
On December 31, 2020, there were 14 accidents in the province with no fatalities compared to the same period in 2019 when the province recorded 19 accidents with three fatalities.
On New Year’s Day there were 11 accidents with no fatalities while on the same day in 2020, there were nine accidents and no fatalities.
“One death is one too many and the fact that we had none is reason to celebrate,” said the MEC.
“Those who die are often breadwinners in their families who possess critical skills in our economy and social role models who contribute to social cohesion and nation building.
“When they die in accidents, we do not only lose an individual but we mourn a devastating effect that single death may have across a wide spectrum of life.”
Tsiu however expressed concern that the province was seeing an increase in medical cases due to COVID-19 infections and urged people to be vigilant at all times by exercising physical and social distancing, wearing masks when in contact with people from outside one’s household, frequently washing hands with soap and water, sanitising them with an alcohol-based medium and practising cough and sneeze etiquette.
She said people should avoid unnecessary travel and visits.
The MEC also warned against hosting parties even in places where people think they are far from the public glare.
Tsiu also urged people to seek early medical attention when they are not feeling well.
Meanwhile, about 30 babies were born in the province on New Year’s Day.
At least five of them were born in the first hour of the new year with two coming about 0002 hours.
An 18-year-old mother from Bloemfontein gave birth to a 2.6kg baby girl at 0002 hours at Pelonomi Hospital, while in QwaQwa at Elizabeth Ross Hospital, a 23-year-old mother from Monontsha gave birth to another baby girl weighing 3.22kg at the same time.
Dihlabeng Regional Hospital received its first baby for the new year at 0030 hours when a 27-year-old mother from Bethlehem gave birth to a girl weighing just over 3kg.
In Bloemfontein, a 29-year-old mother gave birth to a 3kg baby boy at 0035 hours at Universitas Academic Hospital
At about 0040 hours at Thusanong Hospital, a 25-year-old mother from Odendaalsrus gave birth to a 2.76kg baby girl.