Shutting down the economy not a solution

The rising number of Covid-19 infections across the country looks grim, with new infections in Gauteng province reported to have shockingly surpassed 12 000 a day as the third wave continues to pound SA’S economic hub.

The situation in Gauteng could not have been more dreadful as the province accounted for 63% of the 18 762 new infections, according to figures released by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases on Friday.

With infections rapidly rising across the country, the number of infections could soon reach over 2-million as hospitals battle with new Covid-19 admissions, as the third wave mercilessly sweeps across the country.

The situation looks even bleaker after it emerged yesterday that the highly infectious Delta variant, which was the cause of searing infections that affected millions and killed thousands in India, has now been widely detected in SA.

In the midst of all the measures put in place to curb the spread of the virus, it pains us to see how large segments of the South African population have also become their own worst enemy.

Although we are not in favour of moving the country – even Gauteng itself – to stricter levels 4 or 5, we are, however, outraged at the total disregard of Covid-19 protocols by some restaurants, bars, pubs, shebeens and taverns, many of which have become death traps.

It also makes no sense for the government to close liquor stores instead of permitting them to remain open for sale and allow people to consume their alcohol at their private residences while allowing the sale and reckless consumption of liquor at some of these public entertainment spaces.

This lawlessness is compounded by the fact that even politicians are failing to lead by example. They continue to mobilise their supporters to stage big marches and protests, as witnessed with the EFF marchers and Ace Magashule’s supporters this week in two separate events that potentially could have been Covid-19 super-spreader events.

The situation on the ground has not been made any easier as the vaccine rollout appears to be at a snail’s pace. The government needs to accelerate the vaccine rollout and widen it to include all citizens, irrespective of their ages.

How tragic that preparations for the vaccine rollout were marred by government incompetence and lack of vision. South Africans are now paying the ultimate price for government bungling the vaccine rollout.

The chickens have come home to roost, partly because the money, which was destined to fight the pandemic, was diverted into the pockets of politicians and their associates.

We urge the government to embark on a delicate balancing act as it ponders the next step forward. We agree with the sentiment that the government must also consider vaccines from other countries like China and Russia if they are going to save lives and speed up the vaccination process.

Closing the economy – especially that of Gauteng – is not a viable solution, especially against the background of increasing joblessness and the accompanying slow economic recovery brought about by the first total shutdown of our economy.