Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter Heidedal and Navalsig police stations in Bloemfontein have been closed after officers stationed at the two facilities tested positive for COVID-19. Free State Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane said communities serviced by the two police stations can still access services at temporary centres that have been set up. “Heidedal SAPS will operate from a caravan placed outside the police station,” she said in a statement. Navalsig police station will offer services from Nederduitse Gerefomeerde Kerk Hall at no 45 Exton Road, Hilton. “The police stations will be decontaminated so as to curb the spread of the…

Staff Reporter The Free State provincial health department says striking workers at the province’s major psychiatric hospital in Bloemfontein have agreed to return to duty following talks to address their grievances. Staff at the Free State Psychiatric Complex had downed tools Monday morning claiming lack of support and adequate protection in the face of COVID-19. Although labour unions remained tight-lipped on the outcome of the crisis talks held to resolve the industrial action at the mental health facility, saying there are issues to be finalised Tuesday, the provincial health department last night said the striking workers had agreed to return…

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…