GEORGE NEWS - Following the death of a young boy from Thembalethu and the hospitalisation of his brother on Sunday 8 October, both of whom apparently suffered from diarrhoea, George Herald approached George Hospital and George Municipality regarding allegations that the two brothers fell ill after drinking tap water in Zone 9.
One boy died in hospital and the other was admitted to the ICU, suffering from dehydration.
District health spokesperson Nadia Ferreira responded as follows: "We can confirm that two patients fitting the description were seen at George Hospital's emergency centre on Sunday 8 October. One of the patients sadly passed away on arrival at the emergency centre and the other patient is currently in a stable condition in the paediatric ward."
No further information was divulged to the newspaper.
To a question whether more patients than usual presented with symptoms of diarrhoea since last week at local state clinics, Ferreira said there has not been "a sudden increase" in such cases at any of the clinics.
A friend of the boys' parents, who wished to remain anonymous, said some members of the community believe that the incident was linked to tap water that the boys drank. The friend said a number of members of their church congregation also complained of an upset stomach.
Municipal notice
On the same day that the boys allegedly drank the tap water, the municipality sent out a notice about multiple water network failures that resulted in discoloured water, which it advised was safe for bathing and showering, but should be boiled before drinking.
In response to a query regarding the boys, municipal communications chief Chantél Edwards confirmed that the drinking water quality released into the networks was well within required specifications and that Thembalethu had not been affected.
"A notice issued on Wednesday 4 October at 20:15 regarding the colour of the water (brown) only affected the areas Protea Park, Blue Mountain, Groenkloof, Conville and Parkdene. This followed a pipe failure on Wednesday at 13:30 which occurred in a division of the water network that did not affect the reservoir and tower that supply the Thembalethu area. The affected water, albeit brown in colour, remained within required specifications for drinking quality," said Edwards.
Regarding concern over the warning message not reaching the whole community, Edwards said all communications from the municipality are issued on a number of channels. "These include directly to all councillors via a WhatsApp group and email, local media (radio stations and print) and via the municipal website, Facebook, Twitter and My Smart City App."
She said Mayor Leon van Wyk and municipal manager Dr Michele Gratz have conveyed their condolences to the family on behalf of the municipality.
Both the family friend and George Hospital said the parents of the boys are too traumatised to speak to the newspaper.
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