At midnight on March 26, 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa placed South Africa into a hard lockdown in an effort to halt the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
IOL's Two Years of Covid series explores the personal stories of our journalists and some of the biggest stories we have covered over this period.
Covid-19 has left many South African workers in dire financial situations after salary reductions were imposed in 2020 due to the pandemic.
One such worker is Emmanuel, who is employed in the manufacturing sector in Brits, North West.
"I have not recovered from the effect of the coronavirus two years down the line … In April, soon after the country was put under level 5 lockdown, workers were faced with reduced salaries.
"Employers implemented the reduced salary decision without consulting workers’ unions, and in the process workers were pushed into a tight financial corner," Emmanuel said.
He explained that he was offered a payment holiday by some of his creditors, but that was not enough.
"Look, you still have to make payment, it (payment holiday) simply meant you are not paying your monthly instalments now, but after a certain period you must pay. You end up being behind with your instalment.
"This is the new normal some workers faced. We have a long way to be able to honour our financial obligations.
"I did not have a salary increase since 2020. I am not sure whether I will be paid the money that was reduced in April 2020. Should it be paid back, I will be able to find my footing … According to my calculation, the money amounts to just over R80 000."
President Cyril Ramaphosa put South Africa under strict measures controlling movement of people on March 27, 2020, to cut the rapid spread of Covid-19.
Only essential workers were allowed to report for duty and needed to carry a permit confirming that they were working in the essential services sector.
As of March 29, South Africa has 3 707 089 Covid-19 cases, with 99 899 deaths and 3 594 194 recoveries. The country has administered 33 023 123 Covid-19 vaccines.
South Africa is considering ending the state of disaster and Ramaphosa was expected to address the nation after the government received public comment on the new regulations.
Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma gazetted new regulations this week and the public has until April 1 to comment.
The novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19 was first detected in Wuhan, the sprawling capital of Hubei province in China, in December 2019.
According to data from Worldometer on March 30, at least 485 843 834 Covid-19 cases had been recorded globally, with 6 158 506 deaths and 421 294 962 recoveries.
IOL