[imagesource: Delwyn Verasamy/M&G]

Whatever happens from here on out, and all we really know is that we’re heading into the unknown, our government’s early heeding of warning signs from around the world should be applauded.

Whilst many dragged their feet, now with catastrophic results (at the time of writing, the US has in excess of 240 000 confirmed cases), President Ramaphosa took decisive action and enforced a 21-day lockdown.

(Now, if they could just get their messaging right about some of the simpler matters, like the sale of tobacco products – although a more pressing issue is how to compassionately enforce lockdown laws in informal settlements.)

For the BBC, Africa correspondent Andrew Harding says “it is tempting – dangerously tempting – to breathe a sigh of relief”.

I think the key word there is “dangerously”, but here’s more from Harding’s report:

South Africa seems to have acted faster, more efficiently, and more ruthlessly than many other countries around the world.

Heading the fight here against Covid-19, President Cyril Ramaphosa has emerged as a formidable leader – composed, compassionate, but seized by the urgency of the moment and wasting no time in imposing tough restrictive steps and galvanising crucial support from the private sector.

And one rung below the president, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has likewise garnered near universal praise for his no-nonsense, energetic performance, and his sober, deeply knowledgeable, daily briefings.

They should really be the only two leaders allowed to speak in public. Please, for the good of the country, can we enforce strict lockdown measures on Fikile Mbalula and Bheki Cele? Both are embarrassments.

Harding does acknowledge that there have been mistakes made – “the police and army have, at times, acted with thuggish abandon” – but he’s pretty effusive in his praise:

But overall, as South Africans mark their first week under one of the strictest lockdowns introduced anywhere in the world – no jogging outside, no sales of alcohol or cigarettes, no dog-walking, no leaving home except for essential trips and prison or heavy fines for law-breaking – there is an argument to be made that a government so often attacked as corrupt and inefficient, and a private sector so often seen as aloof and greedy, are rising to meet what is widely anticipated to be the greatest challenge this young democracy has ever seen.

At the same time, Harding talks about the struggles of enforcing the lockdown in areas like Alexandra, saying it’s “already clear that the battle will be fought, lost, or won, in the country’s poorest communities”.

On that front, the daily struggles of putting food on the table, and trying to enforce any form of physical distancing amidst the most basic of living conditions, are proving to be major hurdles.

To finish, Harding says:

…a sudden, extreme crisis – like a war or similar emergency – offers the tantalising possibility of radical change, of forging new alliances, of disrupting failing systems and patterns, of exposing bad leadership in the most unforgiving manner, and of bringing the most talented and dynamic people to the fore.

Some of those changes are already under way.

Sure, that is nice to read, but is the coronavirus really going to sort out a ruling party that has operated as a criminal enterprise for the best part of a decade now?

In addition, when announcing yesterday’s updated confirmed cases (1 462) last night (Thursday), Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said there was no room for complacency.

This from the Daily Maverick:

“These are still very early days. We are only just starting,” Mkhize said.

The minister indicated that a particular concern is that South Africa’s flu season is approaching fast, which could weaken immune systems. He urged the public to stay warm and take nutritional supplements if possible, while also adhering to the regulations of the lockdown.

Mkhize made it clear that the government and the South African health system is still braced for a possible deluge of coronavirus cases.

“We are calling on all hospitals to reduce numbers of patients,” Mkhize said, adding that chronic medication should be made available for several months in advance to cut down on hospital visits…

“This is the calm before the storm,” Mkhize said.

But, in the best-case scenario, “the storm never really ends up happening”.

The best chance we have of ensuring that storm never happens is for those who can, to stay at home and stay safe.

Our number of confirmed cases may be rising slowly, and that curve seemingly flattening, but what we’re really doing is buying time for our healthcare professionals further down the line.

[sources:bbc&dailymav]