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SA news on 8 Feb: ‘Seven kids drown on Free State farm’ – and five other major stories

It’s been a busy, and somewhat tragic weekend – with a mixed outlook for Monday. Here are all the major news headlines for South Africa on 8 February.

by Tom Head

08-02-2021 05:59

in News

Photo: Unsplash

Looking at the news headlines on a Monday can be something of an extreme sport during the pandemic era. Sadly, 8 February is no exception. A setback with the COVID-19 vaccine – and some gruesome discoveries elsewhere – have set a challenging tone for the day ahead. Here are the major stories making the front pages in South Africa today…

TODAY’S LATEST NEWS IN SOUTH AFRICA, MONDAY 8 February

Seven children drown on Free State farm

The police in Steynsrus are investigating an inquest case after the drowning of eight people. It is alleged that on Sunday, 7 February 2021 at about 10:52 the police in Steynsrus received a complaint about a white Honda Ballade that was swept away into the river at a farm.

According to information, in the vehicle was the driver Tshokolo Hlongwane (26), two adult males, Mohau Mokoena and Swartbooi Hlongwane and seven children, four boys and three girls. The two males and the driver managed to get out of the vehicle and escape but the driver went back into the water to try and save the children from drowning and was also swept away by water.

All seven children drowned and the police divers managed to recover six bodies of the children and the body of the driver, the body of the seventh child is still missing.

Vaccine snag hits South Africa

Yes, the Monday morning misery is particularly strong today, following the news that South Africa’s plans to rollout the AstraZeneca COVID-19 have been ripped to shreds. New clinical data has revealed that the jabs are ‘somewhat ineffective’ against the SA variant. However, this latest development is a setback, rather than a complete and utter disaster.

Even our top epidemiologist, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, stated that these results ‘do not spell doom and gloom’. The scientific community has since expressed its confidence in how the AstraZeneca vaccine will treat more severe forms of COVID-19, believing that efficacy rates will be ‘much higher’ in this field – making AZ a useful weapon to keep in the armory.

AstraZeneca troubles

It’s emerged that the over 1 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses that arrived with much fanfare in South Africa last Monday expire in April. This was only picked up when the jabs arrived in the country.

The vaccines have a 6-month life span, and authorities are looking to engage with the Serum Institute of India to swap the current batch or ascertain, wait for it… if the ‘expiry date can be pushed back.’

We’ve summarised the good, the bad, and the ugly of these latest developments here.

Zuma’s defiance is literally ‘bad for business’ in South Africa

Jacob Zuma’s open defiance of a Constitutional Court judgment which stated that the former president must abide by a summons to appear before the commission into state capture has drawn the ire of lobby group Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and their president Sipho Pityana., who says Zuma’s recalcitrant attitude will cost South Africa dearly.

If as a country, Pityana continued, “we fail to act against such blatant violation of a decision by the highest court, we send a message that we have neither a political nor economic environment for investment in our country.”

Lion’s Head tragedy

The local Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) team has confirmed that a hiker has died after falling from a great height during a trek around Lion’s Head. The iconic Cape Town trail has experienced an influx of visitors since the laws of lockdown were eased earlier this week, but sadly, that has been overshadowed by this fatality.

In a statement published earlier this afternoon, WSAR explained that they were guided to the location of the incident by a location pin, shared by other hikers. Unfortunately, first responders declared the patient dead at the scene,

Two young girls found ‘burned’ Atteridgeville

Police in Tshwane have opened a case of murder and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the burnt bodies of two female minors in an abandoned building in Atteridgeville, Extension 7 on Friday 05 February 2021. The identities of the deceased is yet to be determined.

The local police were alerted to the incident by members of the community, and on arrival at the scene made the gruesome discovery. The bodies were burnt beyond recognition and at this point, no one has come forward yet to either report missing children or assist in determining their identities.