Since the inception of Covid-19 government regulations, no issue has polarized the nation than the sale of alcohol and banning of cigarettes, the reopening of places of worship and ambivalence in the resumption of schools.
It is astounding for a nation usually aroused by racism now finds itself tugging and towing along safety and livelihoods. The divergence of the squabbles makes no sense for both sides ultimately converge at the same center. That being so, the raging debates are live and well.
South Africa (SA) prepares itself for the return of some economic-generating sectors such as domestic flights, more fast-food services, construction, agrarian, outomative, the contentious sale of alcoholic beverages and an increase in mining output among others.
These high economic activities will be accompanied by the reintroduction of massive social gatherings for one purpose or another in the domain of schools grade 7s and grade 12s), tertiary institutions and common places of or religion or worship.
Death knell hovers
At the moment, SA is experiencing the highest peak in coronavirus (the disease that causes Covid-19) positive cases than ever before. This is a major concern.
The cold front sweeping the economic regions of the country does help matters as the Covid-19 infections keep climbing. Yet, the drop in temperatures across the country are expected during this time of the year in South Africa.
As usual, influenza (flu) and colds are common in winter. With the Covid-19 hospitalization predicted to grow, health facilities of the country may be swamped. How dreadful it would be if the in-patients situation gets to that level!
However, the South African government stated that it has prepared to handle expected high-clinic visits and the eventual hospitalisation. To this, it credits strenuous efforts of nationwide lockdown and person-to-person restrictive and preventive measures it embarked on when new cases surfaced.
At that time, it had the support and will of the people then. Now things have changed. That hard-earned grassroots legitimacy is waning as divisions begin to creep in between political apparatus and scientific scholars. There are scores of observers who suggest that recent lockdown-regulation decisions are coloured by political forces.
Testing a setback
On the other hand, the SA government does not have sufficient testing capacity to carry out satisfactory diagnosis on its populace. Delays in delivery and shortage in supply are cited among the reasons. With the re-emergence of people from their homes into the workplace, schools, shopping centers in droves, and places of worship, things may go pear-shaped and spiral out of control.
The President of the country, Cyril Ramaphosa, and members of his National Command Council (NCC), a cluster of departmental ministers, must ensure that some good controls adopted earlier are not derailed. It is not going to be a Sunday stroll by any means though.
It was noteworthy to hear Fr Russell Pollitt of the Jesuit Institute South Africa on eNCA interrogating the reopening of churches, mosques and synagogues by June 1. In his state of wonder he said:
Even in spaces of warship incidents of infections are prevalent across the world. How will the security clusters monitor and enforce the rule of law in churches. Who gets to make the 50 limit for attendance? Bringing people together won’t help either.
Many commenters from different backgrounds lamented the President’s latest Tuesday May 26 pronouncement that religious groupings will be allowed to practice their spiritual rituals on level 3 of the lockdown.
Well-known radio talk show host Eusebius McKaiser remarked on Wednesday that this relaxation of regulations was “a ridiculous decision”.
Hammering a point home on the astonishing about turn by the Union Buildings was a Political Analyst Lukhona Mnguni on his Twitter account:
“@LukhonaMnguni President Cyril Ramaphosa has now lost complete control over South Africa. I am not ranting. Level 3 is SA’s COVID-19 Armageddon. I am significantly worried about my loved ones& the country. Level 3 will be impossible to enfroce, it’s a numbers game. Goodluck fellow compatriots.”
At the core of this void is the shortage of testing kit supplies. Even so, SA is continually increasing its testing capacity. By May 28, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) posted that 655 723 tests were conducted.
According to Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) 2019 report, the population count is estimated at 5,8 million. Nevertheless, testing kits have been a global conundrum from the very beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.
Coronavirus hotspots
Compounding the South African problems is the scant healthcare practitioners within its borders. To this end, 217 Cuban medical professionals have been courted to endow the skeletal staff. Given how vast SA stretches, the Cuban medics are just but a drop in the ocean.
Nonetheless, Cuba boosts one of the best healthcare systems in the world. After a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival on April 27, they were split in groups and deployed to different provinces across the country. Hotspots areas were allocated more Cuban medics due to demand and the urgency to reduce the infection rate.
There are about 12 areas that Ramaphosa declared hotspots recently. In his definition:
“A hotspot is defined as an area that has more than 5 infected people per every 100,000 people or where new infections are increasing at a fast pace.”
The government is going to intensify its health interventions in the hotspots areas to arrest and ameliorate the anticipated high infection rate.
On May 28, 2020, Covid-19 confirmed cases in SA were 27, 937 and the death toll stood at 577.
The Western Cape province is the epicenter of the epidemic in the country. It accounts for 65% of Covid-19 infections and over 70% deaths as of May 28.
At 3, 306 cases, the Eastern Cape (EC) has registered the biggest jump in recent weeks. It comes 3rd in recording the highest number of Covid-19 positive cases in the country, trialing Gauteng by a meagre 23 cases. The EC death count stands at 77 while Gauteng is at 31 to date.
Collateral damage
It is not so much how many religious people will gather because the maximum attendance has been set at a tight 50. It is, however, about the number of these rendezvous and the enforcement for compliance.
As Fr Pollitt asked: Who will take the responsibility of adhering to health guidelines as outlined by the Department of Health (DoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO)?
Covid-19 spreads through personal contact. It takes just a meeting by two persons to stoke wildfire. Similarly, a constant communion of more people elevates the risk of the infection. Needless to say an audience of 50 is a potential breeding ground for an outbreak. The classic case of “patient 31” in South Korea is a fresh reminder.
Speaking to McKaiser on Talk Radio 702 Karima Brown opined that:
Embedded in the realm of worshipping in common areas is the “do no harm” principle. Ramaphosa’s decision will reverse the gains made. Migrating the entire country to level 3 was a wrong move. Seemingly he has finally capitulated to the pressure of both business and religious interests.
The outcome of some of these decisions are highly unpredictable. The Covid-19 pandemic is new to human kind. The tenuous milieu in which the life-threatening virus is playing out its brutality is hosting and guarding with horror what may become.
Yet, life must go on and people leave, if anything, for survival. Unfortunately, sustaining lives will come at a heavy price. The collateral damage future generations will wonder how it all really happened. For now though, every eventuality is purely historic and shall be recorded as such.