Little did ‘patient zero’ know when he got off his plane in South Africa, after returning from Italy in 2020, that he was carrying the little-known Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes Covid. And it was on March 5, 2020 that then Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced his presence in South Africa. Patient Zero was soon joined by much more – with Ugandan-South African scientist and HIV prevention researcher Dr. Gita Ramjee as one of the first notable people to die from Covid related complications. According to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, nearly 100,000 people had died from Covid…
Little did ‘patient zero’ know when he got off his plane in South Africa, after returning from Italy in 2020, that he was carrying the little-known Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes Covid.
And it was on March 5, 2020 that then Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced his presence in South Africa. Patient Zero was soon joined by much more – with Ugandan-South African scientist and HIV prevention researcher Dr. Gita Ramjee as one of the first notable people to die from Covid related complications.
Nearly 100,000 people had died of Covid in SA on Friday, according to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases. Like a cyclone, like the plague, Covid raged through the country.
It made no distinction between rich and poor – with symptoms ranging from difficulty breathing, cough and fever. Wearing masks, social distancing and sanitizing hands quickly became a new way of life – non-pharmacological interventions will be with us for years to come.
And instead of working together to fight a common enemy, the world initially became polarized, with rich nations taking care of their own and African nations being left to fend for themselves. So said Everisto Benyera, professor of political science at the University of South Africa.
“Covid resulted in the revival of nationalism and a decline in shared multilateralism,” Benyera said.
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“Each country looked at its own interests first, but pandemics are a global challenge. Covid has distorted the idea of collective security.
“Poor countries were more exposed than rich countries because poor countries were unable to organize themselves quickly against a common threat,” Benyera said.
“The pandemic also showed how weak public health institutions were in Africa.”
Today, economists Thabi Leoka and University of Johannesburg economics professor Peter Baur say South Africa’s economy is far from fully recovered from the massive Covid pounding it took.
The sector most affected by the pandemic was tourism, due to restrictions on who could travel, Leoka said.
“When we had tighter lockdown levels, it was virtually impossible for people to travel, with countries putting up tougher barriers as more people became infected with the virus.”
Leoka said the tourism industry has yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels.
“The other [sector] was drinks — especially alcohol — because there were times during the lockdown when alcohol was banned,” she said.
“That sector had no consumers to sell to and alcohol was untenable to keep for a long time.
“If you look at the trends in unemployment, inequality and poverty, they all went in the wrong direction even before the pandemic,” Leoka said.
We can’t quite say that the pandemic has caused all of these problems, but it has accelerated them.
“Countries that made sure they supported their economies, small businesses and their The throwdowntvs that were adversely affected by Covid will see much stronger growth.
“If you look at the forecasts from analysts, Treasury and the Reserve Bank, our growth will be quite weak for the next three to four years.
“The overall impact was quite devastating, but it doesn’t take away that we were in a rut before the pandemic.”
Drawing on lessons learned from the pandemic, Leoka said it is important for the country to have health buffers, by increasing health stocks.
“We had a situation where doctors and nurses didn’t have masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment.”
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Baur also said tourism is the sector hardest hit by the pandemic.
“The decline in tourism has been particularly bad in the arts and culture sector, with entertainment being curbed.
“Investment and business confidence have been on a downward trend over a long period of time, impacting future investment.
“Households and small businesses have been hit by the increased impact of unemployment, which has put enormous pressure on household incomes and is unlikely to find work for many people.”
Speaking of lessons learned from the pandemic, Baur said: “Covid has shown us that we can work together as a nation. We really made a difference by working together towards this goal.
“Everyone has worked really hard and we really got through this with incredible determination and drive.”
- Alert Level 5 – Midnight March 26 to April 30, 2020; Alert Level 4 – May 1 to May 31;
- Alert Level 3 – June 1 to August 17;
- Alert Level 2 – August 18 to September 20;
- Alert Level 1 – September 21 to December 28, 2020;
- Adjusted Alert Level 3 – December 29 to February 28, 2021;
- Adjusted alarm level 1 – March 1 to May 30, 2021;
- Adjusted Alert Level 3 – June 16 to 27, 2021;
- Adjusted alarm level 4 – 28 to 25 July 2021;
- Adjusted Alert Level 3 – July 26 to September 12, 2021;
- Adjusted Alert Level 2 – September 13 to 30, 2021; and,
- Alert level 1 adjusted since October 1.
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