Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter Healthcare workers at the Free State Psychiatric Complex have downed tools claiming the government had failed to give them adequate support and protection to deal with COVID-19 while on duty. The Free Stater reported at the weekend that at least 14 healthcare workers and 24 patients at the mental hospital in Bloemfontein were in isolation after testing positive for the disease. The outbreak is said to have brought panic to the 877-bed institution and some healthcare workers wanted the place closed to allow for decontamination and deep cleaning fearing more people could be infected. In a bid to resolve…

Staff Reporter At least 57 people in the Free State are known to have succumbed to COVID-19, according to statistics released Sunday evening. The province now has 9 004 confirmed cases of the acute respiratory disease with 1 103 recoveries. The latest figure puts the Free State’s case fatality rate at 0.6 percent. Lejweleputswa district, which has recorded 19 deaths, has the most fatalities in the province, followed by Mangaung. About 58 percent of those infected are women, but more men have succumbed to the disease. “Although more females are infected – 58 percent or 5 228 women contracted the…

Staff Reporter About 14 healthcare workers and 24 patients at the Free State Psychiatric Hospital are in isolation after they tested positive for COVID-19, The Free Stater has learnt. The outbreak is said to have brought panic to the mental health institution with some healthcare workers suggesting the place should be closed to allow for decontamination and deep cleaning as they fear more people could be infected. But the provincial health department has shot down the idea saying the affected places have been decontaminated and those infected were promptly isolated. “We are aware that it’s 10 wards that are affected and all…

Staff Reporter Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize has made an impassioned plea to South Africans to adhere to the country’s strict regulations set out to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid fears of a continued sharp rise in cases. In a statement released late Saturday evening — after South Africa joined the top five countries in the world most affected by the coronavirus in terms of cumulative cases — Mkhize warned the country was entering a difficult phase in the fight against the acute respiratory disease and urged communities to complement the government’s efforts by abiding with the rules. “As government,…

Staff Reporter The Free State Department of Health has rubbished rumours claiming Medi-Clinic Bloemfontein was overwhelmed with cases of COVID-19 and that people risked contracting the disease there as management at the hospital was allegedly failing to cope. Provincial health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said the message being circulated as a voice note claiming a high prevalence of COVID-19 and poor management at the hospital is untrue as the department is constantly monitoring the disease at all health facilities in the province. “We would like to state that what is contained in this voice note is not true,” Mvambi said in…

Staff Reporter The Free State High Court has slapped a local man with life sentences while his brother will also be locked away for long after they pleaded guilty to killing their grandparents for obtaining a peace order against one of them. The pair, Thokozane Gazide, 31, and Kabelo Sebotso, 20, were also found guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances and arson for stealing from the old couple before setting their house on fire. In a statement released Friday, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said Gazide was sentenced to two life terms for killing his grandparents, 15…

Staff Reporter The number of deaths related to COVID-19 in the Free State has more than doubled in just one week, latest statistics show. As of July 9, the disease had claimed 19 lives and the province had a total of 3 724 confirmed cases. Exactly seven days later, on July 16, the figure, according to the provincial health department, has jumped to 45. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has also shot up to 6 561, with 1 033 recoveries. During the same period, the province also recorded 592 new cases. Mangaung remains the Free State’s epicentre of the…

Staff Reporter All hospital beds set aside for COVID-19 patients in a Free State district hard hit by the pandemic have been taken up, the provincial health department has said. The exact number of the beds could not be immediately established but provincial health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said in a statement released Thursday afternoon that efforts were underway to ensure more beds are made available in Lejweleputswa district. “The current indication is that beds earmarked for COVID-19 are full,” he said. Mvambi however said the admissions policy could be reviewed because at times patients who had merely tested positive for…

Staff Reporter The Free State treasury has come out guns blazing, dismissing as unfounded and incorrect allegations of corruption against its head of department, Godfrey Mahlatsi, published in a local newspaper last week. A statement issued by the department Wednesday said the front-page article published by The Free State Weekly under the headline “Treasury HOD embroiled in ‘corruption’ storm” was grossly inaccurate as the alleged illicit awarding of contracts was above board and at no time did the department favour certain bidders over others. The department said it also viewed the article as a conflict of interest because the owner…

Staff Reporter A Grade 7 learner from Amohelang Primary School in Botshabelo died Wednesday afternoon after collapsing at school. She was 13 and the cause of death has not yet been established. In a statement, Free State Education MEC Tate Makgoe said he was shocked and saddened by the death of the learner. “I am really sad and shocked on hearing this piece of news. May her soul rest in peace,” Makgoe said in a statement released late Wednesday. The MEC wished the learner’s family, schoolmates, teachers and all staff at the school strength and courage to go through the…