Lull Before The Tsunami?

BBC News are running an interesting piece on South Africa's Covid-19 outbreak and why our numbers are so low in comparison with other nations, particularly more developed nations with superior healthcare systems.

I think many of us on the ground know full well why our numbers are low and it's because the government took decisive action very early. South Africa's lockdown was one of the earliest to be implemented in terms of the numbers of coronavirus infections and it's one of the most draconian lockdowns outside of China.

I also think that many people understood from the beginning that South Africa has a very large and vulnerable population in terms of HIV and those with TB, and that any lockdown would be about protecting the most vulnerable. Yes the lockdown is annoying, frustrating and irritating, but it's not about me, rather it's about saving at least 8 million very vulnerable people.

There have been violations of the lockdown but by and large they've been dealt with (I saw this for myself when I joined a feeding project last week) and the complacency spoken of in the article just isn't there yet.

South Africa's big issue which is looming in the not too distant future is the economy, in particular the informal economy on which so many millions of poorer citizens depend for a living. Their livelihoods have been massively impacted with little in the way of support being offered, and what is available is very conditional leaving many excluded and vulnerable.

Whilst the lockdown is clearly working there is much goodwill towards it, but should the govt decide to extend it further beyond the 30th April, I can see things turning very ugly with all sections of society turning against what until now has been an excellent response to the pandemic.

Personally I don't think the tsunami is coming so long as we all continue to cooperate with what has largely been a decent govt response to the pandemic.

Let's pray that South Africa's response really does yield the fruit it appears to be and the nation can move forward.