Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter A 37-year-old man from Marquad in Thabo Mofutsanyana district has succumbed to COVID-19 complications, the Free State health department has announced. The death brings the province’s tally to 10. “He had underlying health conditions and was hospitalised at Universitas Academic Hospital where he eventually died,” provincial health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said in a brief statement Tuesday night. The Free State has now recorded a total of 370 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 162 recoveries. This means there are 198 active cases. At least 2 150 605 people have been screened across the province and 31 936 tests have been conducted…

Staff Reporter Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela has handed over to the police the Public Protector’s report relating to an investigation into allegations of maladministration and the irregular awarding of a contract to remove asbestos roofs by the Department of Human Settlements. The handover makes way for a formal investigation to begin based on the report released by the Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane last month. “I am handing over the report . . . to the South African Police Service and . . . the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI),” said Ntombela during a brief handover ceremony in…

Staff Reporter The Free State Department of Education says it is yet to decide if it will employ more teachers as a result of classes being split to allow for social distancing as recommended by the government to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. Education MEC Tate Makgoe would not hazard a figure when asked by The Free Stater during a media briefing at Tsoseletso Secondary School in Bloemfontein Tuesday morning whether such plans were in place. “It’s really going to depend on the timetable,” Makgoe said during the briefing to update the media on the phased re-opening which started Monday…

Staff Reporter Hunger and poverty levels in the country could be significantly reduced if government support received by most people is used for the intended purposes, Free State Social Development MEC Mamiki Qabathe has said. She said this in response to a suggestion that the government should make more food available for the needy and extend the feeding programmes so that they also provide dinner. “Government is doing a lot interventions,” said Qabathe during a media briefing organised by the provincial education department to give an update on the phased in re-opening of schools which started Monday. The social development…

Staff Reporter The Greater Bloemfontein Taxi Association (GBTA) says it does not intend to increase fares to make up for lost revenue over the lockdown period and reduced capacity due to social distancing as it could price them out of the market. GBTA public relations officer Coach Mpotane told The Free Stater in a telephone interview that while they are feeling the pinch from rising operational costs, they have decided not to increase fares because it would impact negatively on their customers, some of whom have lost their jobs or got salary cuts. “We are not increasing fares . . . in…

Staff Reporter A police officer at Zamdela police station in Sasolburg has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the community service centre to temporarily close. Free State police spokesperson Brigadier Sam Makhele said the officer tested positive on Monday morning and the police station was immediately closed to allow for decontamination. “All communities being serviced by the Zamdela police station . . . are advised that (it) has been temporarily closed (after one of its members . . . tested positive COVID-19 on Monday,” he said in a statement. Makhele said a temporary police station will now operate from Number 1…

Staff Reporter Most schools in the Free State will be ready to receive Grade 7 and Grade 12 learners on Monday as South Africa implements the phased re-opening plan, Education MEC Tate Makgoe has said. Speaking via video link during a media briefing hosted by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga Sunday afternoon, Makgoe said schools across the province have received most of the requirements they need to curb the spread of the coronavirus and will be ready to resume classes. “We are very ready for the learners on the 8th (of June),” said Makgoe, who spoke from the Free State.…

Staff Reporter At least three people were killed in separate incidents last night in a streak of violent attacks in the south-eastern Free State town of Zastron, while another one died after a shack caught fire. The incidents, which occurred in just over four hours on Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday, have left the small agricultural town shocked as people try to come to terms with the gruesome acts. Three suspects have been arrested but provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Sam Makhele could neither confirm nor deny in a telephone interview with The Free Stater whether the alleged murders…

Staff Reporter Visits by members of the public to see patients admitted at a Free State regional hospital have been suspended indefinitely after a case of COVID-19 was reported at the health facility. The provincial health department has confirmed as true a social media post stating Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli Regional Hospital in Qwaqwa had cancelled visits with immediate effect. “The Facebook post said that Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli Regional Hospital would like to inform all members of the community that there’s been changes to visiting hours as from today until further notice due to a reported positive COVID-19 case . .…

Staff Reporter Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela has urged people not to discriminate against those who test positive for COVID-19 as this could reverse all efforts to contain the spread of the deadly disease. She said such acts could result in other people not willing to disclose their condition or seeking help as they will be worried about how society would treat them. “We are aware that the coronavirus has triggered social stigma against the people infected and the ones who have been in contact with the virus,” Ntombela as she addressed a meeting attended by Deputy President David Mabuza…