The Star Early Edition

Ignoring the rules equals attempted murder

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THE BEHAVIOUR of many South Africans towards the protocols put for Covid-19, physical distancing, wearing masks in public places and regular washing of hands with soap for 20 seconds, sadly mirrors the behaviour that catapulted the country into the status of having the highest prevalence of HIV/Aids in the globe.

The results will probably be similarly devastatin­g, if not worse.

The virus is quick and deadly and respects no barriers or boundaries. People continue to believe, against all the evidence of body bags piling up in stretchers in hospitals and morgues the world over, that Covid-19 does not exist, is a hoax or will not affect them.

In many of our supermarke­ts and other places visited in big numbers, it is a common sight to have people having their masks hanging below their noses or below their mouths. I have tried to alert some store owners or managers to the anomalies but my patriotic and civic duty act was not met with enthusiasm.

The fact that we are a society known for lawlessnes­s and a poor-performing criminal justice system does not help. People fear no consequenc­es for wrongdoing. It may be time for the government to announce stronger penalties for non-compliance.

The tone at the top around Covid19 in the government and among businesses that interact with the public must show that this is a matter of life and death. The act of not wearing a mask properly in a public place and failing to ensure that people do so, is tantamount to attempted murder at best, and being an accessory to genocide at worst.

Covid-19 is a plague and plagues have exterminat­ed communitie­s. Let us protect our our communitie­s.

DAN L NKOSI | Springs

 ?? African News Agency (ANA) ?? PEOPLE gathered on Church Square in Pretoria, some keeping their physical distance and wearing masks while others are not. We all need to play our part to save our communitie­s and avoid catastroph­e, says the writer. | JACQUES NAUDE
African News Agency (ANA) PEOPLE gathered on Church Square in Pretoria, some keeping their physical distance and wearing masks while others are not. We all need to play our part to save our communitie­s and avoid catastroph­e, says the writer. | JACQUES NAUDE

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