Donald and Melania Trump testing positive for Covid-19 may well be cause for schadenfreude for some

Picture: Evan Vucci/AP

Picture: Evan Vucci/AP

Published Oct 3, 2020

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By Editorial

THE NEWS yesterday that US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania have tested positive for COVID 19 may well be cause for schadenfreude in some parts of the world, given the White House’s resolute denial of both the best scientific advice and indeed the president’s alleged determination to downplay the scale of the disease when it first took root in the US.

People who think this is nothing less than karmic justice may be right, but the reality is that none of us are out of the woods yet when it comes to combatting this Coronavirus. South Africa endured one of the harshest lockdowns in the world, effectively flattening the curve and managing the peak of the infection so successfully that we opened our international borders late this week.

Many South Africans though have become dangerously blasé about the virus, throwing caution to the wind as we settle into Level 1. Nothing could be more foolish. The northern hemisphere is battling second – and even third – waves of the of infection, and having to apply far more draconian regulations than their citizens have ever had to endure.

Our own president Cyril Ramaphosa and our health minister Zweli Mkhize have continually pleaded with us to be alert – or face a return to a hard lockdown. Today, we report how our scientists are warning that we may indeed be tracking six months behind the northern hemisphere with our second wave of infection scheduled for autumn next year.

Let’s take what all of them are saying very seriously. As the first citizens of the world’s superpower are finding out to their cost, this virus is no respecter of class, creed or colour. But the truth is that we can stop a second wave in its tracks if we continue to keep our distance, wear our masks and sanitise. It really that is that simple

The Saturday Star

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