We are not out of Covid woods yet

When President Cyril Ramaphosa lifted the state of disaster about three weeks ago that was imposed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a palpable sigh of relief across the nation as the lockdown had weakened the economy so much that its resuscitation was paramount.

When the state of disaster was initially declared back in March 2020, the implications were clearly huge for the livelihoods of millions of South Africans, hence the need for relief grants such as the R350 and the UIF-Ters that cushioned the blow for many a household as the lockdown took its toll.

As the days passed, it became clear that the war against the coronavirus was, and remains, a double-edged sword that needed to be handled with caution. Covid-19 appears to be going nowhere fast and life as people knew it before the outbreak is never going to be the same. So the best thing to do in the circumstances would always be to fight the disease while also keeping the economy going.

The drive to create herd immunity though vaccination has largely been successful despite vaccine hesitancy that saw the number of vaccinated fall way below expectations. However, it has evidently aided the war on Covid-19 so much that the president ended the state of disaster. Unfortunately, he had to declare another state of disaster in the wake of the devastating killer floods that wrecked large areas of KwaZulu-Natal and parts of the Eastern Cape and North West.

The latest figures released by the department of health show a concerning rise in the number of Covid-19 infections that has some declaring the anticipated fifth wave is more or less here.

The infection rate saw new cases reach 5,062 on Tuesday, an increase of more than 2,000 from the previous day’s record. It may well not be as scary as when the pandemic was at its worst, but such a significant increase should sound alarm bells.

Strict adherence to preventive protocols has largely fallen away but that is no open invitation to people to drop their guard.

Covid-19 is resilient, as has been the experience the world over, and the devil-might-care attitude taking root with widespread disregard for safety protocols might take us back to the dreaded levels of lockdown.