Lockdown damaging entire country

Iam struggling to understand why, according to an international survey, we are being subjected to one of the most stringent lockdowns. We have 15 515 Covid-19 infections with 7 006 recoveries and 264 deaths over 74 days. The daily Covid-19 death rate is four per day. The average daily death rate for HIV and Aids is approximately 40, for TB 333 and seasonal flu 30.

Details of the stress that the pandemic is placing on the health system is kept quiet.

In the previous week when there were 8 895 cases, Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize, pictured, said there were 317 hospitalised Covid-19 cases and 65 in ICU.

One of the purposes of lockdown is to ease the burden on the public health system. Is there any burden? If the negative testing cases are deducted from the current total, we have a current SA Covid-19 infection of 0.0263% of the total population.

Taking the number of previously positive cases, now negative, into account, we have a countrywide net number of 8 509 infections of which 60% are in the Western Cape.

It is quite obvious with Sunday’s 1 160 increase that the lockdown is not preventing infection nor slowing it down.

The approach of subliminally conveying that being tested positive is a death sentence for all individuals is belied by the fact that the government’s Covid-19 website states that “there is no need to panic – 82% of Covid-19 cases are mild: patients only experience a slight fever, fatigue and a cough. Only about 6% of patients need intensive care. The vast majority of people can stay at home and get better without hospital treatment”.

American research shows that 4.6 patients/100 000 are hospitalised. The minister of health has also stated that the death rate is 2%. Internationally, the average per capita death rate is approximately 0.0841%.

Lockdown is turning out to be a bigger threat to the welfare of our society. Reports of 30% hunger, loss of 330 000 jobs, businesses under financial stress, closure of small businesses, and substantial loss of revenue by government are emerging.

It makes no sense to quarantine the entire country if only an infinitesimal portion is infected with the virus.

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