The flouting of regulations risks many lives

IT IS QUITE shocking that since the government eased lockdown regulations to Level 4, people have not been adhering to physical distancing and are flocking to malls in droves.

Barely two days into Level 4, pictures of people jogging in groups surfaced on social media. And with some workers returning to work yesterday, we can only hope employers and employees observe the strict regulations. It is imperative that workplaces comply with the health and safety laws aimed at curbing the spread of the killer coronavirus.

There are fears that infection rates will soar once people start moving around in numbers, and the gains achieved through our combined sacrifice will be lost.

With infections at 6 783 and deaths at 131, it is enough reason and warning to take Covid-19 seriously. But all is not lost as the government has implemented its plan of tracing and testing and the isolation of those infected.

The country’s Covid-19 infections are expected to peak between July and September, according to a group of engineers and health practitioners at the University of Johannesburg.

This is getting way too dangerous, with the flu season on our doorstep.

It is a fact that Covid-19 affects the lungs, and this war between Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and the tobacco industry is not helping matters.

Dlamini Zuma has been under attack after being accused of reversing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision on the sale of cigarettes during the lockdown. The government is aware of the impact the illicit sale of tobacco has on the economy. Yes, our economy is struggling, but people’s lives are important too, as smoking increases the risk of contracting Covid-19.

The World Health Organization has come out strongly against the sale of tobacco and supports the ban across the globe. British American Tobacco SA (Batsa) has taken this fight to court for urgent clarity on the decision-making process that led to the government imposing an indefinite ban on the legal sale of tobacco products. The outcome is yet to be communicated.

No one thought the world could be held to ransom by a virus. The reality is that Covid-19 is wreaking havoc on our lives, and it will take unity, not division, to win the fight against this virus.

Together, we shall overcome.