Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Summer drownings double last year’s rate
THE City of Cape Town has recorded more than double the number of fatal drownings this summer season when compared to last year.
Between September 1 last year and February 22, the City recorded 24 fatal drownings. Between September 2020 and March 2021, the City recorded 11 fatal drownings.
Of the 24 victims, who lost their lives, six were under the age of 18, five were 15 years and younger.
Executive director at Childsafe South Africa, Zaitoon Rabaney, said research indicated that drowning was the second leading cause of accidental death in South Africa. “Children under the age of 15 years account for 30% of all fatal drownings, with the highest numbers of deaths in children under the age of 5.
“It is further estimated that for every death by drowning, there is one survivor of near-drowning which can be emotionally traumatic for the child. Drowning is a fast and silent killer. There can be little screaming, splashing and waving.
“It is a sad reality, and a greater focus should be on education and teaching of water safety education within our schools, communities and primary caregivers of our children.
“It is important for any supervising adult not to leave any child unattended in and around any water body. More importantly is the promotion of learning how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a child in any case of an emergency,” Rabaney said.
Executive director of drowning prevention at the National Sea Rescue Institute, Jill Fortuin, said, globally, drownings have been increasing during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The factors that have contributed to this include the lack of drowning education programmes in places of learning due to lockdown restrictions, no access to swimming lessons due to multiple factors, including municipal pools being closed, and resources for drowning prevention being reallocated to Covid-19 and other priorities.
“In addition, children have been spending more time at home. During summer months when it has been exceptionally hot and there were no funds to access municipal pools or travel to beaches where lifeguards patrolled the areas, any body of water would do. Unaware of the risks and danger, children simply just swam,” she said.
Mayco member for community services and health, Patricia van der Ross, said many factors could be contributing to the difference in incident statistics seen over the seasons mentioned.
“Differences in weather patterns and sea conditions, public preferences for swimming areas and their perceptions of crowded spaces and changes in Covid lockdown levels are just a few of these factors.
“Learn to swim programmes are the foundation of water safety. Accidents in and around water happen, and having basic swimming skills could mean the difference to a person’s chances of survival.”