The decision by President Cyril Ramaphosa to move the country to stricter lockdown regulations this week came as no surprise. The writing was on the wall for quite some time.
The average daily Covid-19 infections skyrocketed as we became gripped by the third wave of the deadly virus.
The restrictions imposed by Ramaphosa this week seek to reduce the movement of persons and the number of people attending gatherings. The government has always been challenged to strike a balancing act. It is crucial to thwart the exponential spread of the virus and also rebuild the economy as the pandemic has had a devastating impact.
The reality is that we have been on this rocky route before. Despite various interventions, the country did not escape the second wave. It was devastating. As a result, many lives were lost, and a massive number of people were infected.
We have encountered several setbacks in our effort to fight the pandemic and we do not seem to be able to deal with a situation to prevent new waves. Our mass vaccination programme needs to be fast-tracked to save more lives.
“But although we have hope, we still have a mountain to climb,” said Ramphosa this week.
It therefore begs for a question – what can we do differently this time? The current situation requires the government to be gutsy. It requires tough decisions. Our approach has been soft.
There are glaring gaps in the restrictions imposed this week. This may not help our cause. Most of the places of entertainment have become super-spreaders of the virus. While it is understandable that the operating hours have been reduced due to a curfew, young people still flock there. This has been our weakest link in dealing with the pandemic.
South Africans are, understandably, feeling tired and suffering from pandemic fatigue. And sadly, it is when we consume alcohol at those places that we let our guard down.
The liquor industry has been in fighting mode, for obvious reasons. It has repeatedly questioned the rationale behind liquor bans. Keeping hospital beds free of alcohol-related trauma cases for Covid-19 patients is a necessary and reasonable act.
The current restrictions allow alcohol sales for on-site consumption to be permitted until 9pm. This has a devastating impact in our efforts to fight the spread of the virus. We have observed that. The sale of alcohol from retail outlets for off-site consumption should be allowed so that people can buy and consume at home. Places where people meet in large numbers such as nightclubs, shebeens and taverns unfortunately spread the virus. They should be closed as part of the precautionary measure to deal with the third wave.
The restrictions imposed this week are not sufficient to help us encumber the spread of the coronavirus. The reaction by the Democratic Nursing Association of South Africa (Denosa) to the president’s address this week that the country needs stricter restrictions are justifiable.
The third wave is here. It could be more devastating. Stricter restrictions are necessary.