[imagesource: Heidi Larson]

Today marks day 71 of our national lockdown.

Thankfully, as the alert levels have dropped, so too have some of our basic freedoms returned.

The ability to exercise for a 12-hour period, outside of a five-kilometre radius of our homes, is a major one, as is the fact that we can once again buy alcohol, albeit with restrictions on trading hours (Monday to Thursday, 9AM to 5PM).

We deserve it, given that so many South Africans have abided by the rules, refraining from visiting friends or family and doing what they can to minimise the risk of catching, and spreading, COVID-19.

That being said, it seems as though this weekend may prove to a watershed moment, with religious gatherings of up to 50 people allowed and the general feeling that people are going to break that ‘no visiting friends and family’ rule, along with the ‘no social gatherings’ rule, en masse.

You’ve been good, you’ve adhered to the rules, and wasn’t the whole thing declared illegal the other day in court, anyway?

No, alert level 3 regulations still apply.

Your life, your choice, but consider that time and time again, we have been told that the worst is still to come. The virus doesn’t care that you’ve been good thus far, it doesn’t give credit for past behaviour, and it’s really not the same as the flu.

Don’t take my word for it, though – take those of the world’s most renowned “virus slayer”, Professor Peter Piot (pictured above), who spoke about his experience with COVID-19 in UCT’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine webinar last night.

The “virus slayer” nickname refers to his long history of dealing with viruses, having helped discover Ebola in 1976, and decades worth of work fighting both that virus and HIV.

His words below, from TimesLIVE:

“We must realise we are only at the beginning of this pandemic. There is no way by some miracle, one fine day, it will disappear. This is a diabolical virus.”

He said, “I have spent decades chasing viruses and then a virus got me”.

Piot spent several days in isolation and after his release, suffered “silent hypoxia”…

“Covid-19 is a multi organ problem and it is very nasty as it goes to your whole body,” he said, adding that it had taken him weeks to recover and he still wasn’t completely over it…

In the Western Cape, in particular, we really are in the eye of the storm. If ever there was a time to be vigilant, it is now.

For the most part, aside from the elderly, people I speak with worry more about being caught violating lockdown regulations than they do about the health risks that same behaviour brings with it.

Yes, most people recover from the virus, and a large percentage of those who become infected may never show symptoms, but the effects are not to be taken lightly.

It’s not fear-mongering to stay informed, so consider this from the Independent:

What initially appeared to be a predictable respiratory infection, similar to Sars or Avian flu, Sars-CoV-2 is now known to affect the lungs, brain, eyes, nose, heart, blood vessels, livers, kidneys and intestines — virtually every organ in the human body.

The studies that have been conducted into Covid-19 present a vast array of symptoms and long-term effects among those who suffered severe infections: scarring of lung tissue; kidney failure; inflammation of the heart muscle and arrhythmias; liver damage; cognitive impairment; psychosis mood disorder, and much more.

You can read more regarding those studies here.

I know – you need to live your life, you can’t live in fear, life must go on, this is a police state, it’s all a hoax, 5G caused the coronavirus, Bill Gates is inventing a vaccine so the global elites can track our every move…

Wherever you fall on that spectrum, just remember that flouting certain lockdown regulations, such as visiting friends and family, or not wearing a mask and refusing to practice safe physical distancing, also puts others at risk.

The mask-wearing, in particular, is done so that you greatly reduce the chance of giving somebody else the virus, as you may be an asymptomatic carrier.

You get off lightly, but there’s no way of knowing if the same can be said for the person you could give it to.

Day 71, and tomorrow is day 72, and we are all tired and frustrated.

Whatever you’re doing this weekend, just try and do it safely, and with the knowledge that we are still a long, long way from the finish line.

[sources:timeslive&independent]