President Cyril Ramaphosa faces one of his most difficult decisions in mulling whether to extend the Covid-19 lockdown
A man walks through Johannesburg’s Brixton Cemetery on March 31, days after a nationwide lockdown came into effect. Picture: ALON SKUY
As SA enters the Easter long weekend 2020 under Covid-19 lockdown, the question on many lips is whether the scheduled three weeks ending on April 16 will be sufficient to disrupt the spread of the novel coronavirus and “flatten the curve” of infection. The experience of the rest of the world, much of it at least a week or two ahead of SA in the progression of the pandemic, indicates that the answer is “probably not”.
It is now clear that if imposed early enough, strict social distancing — including confining all but essential-service workers to their homes and in effect shutting down the economy — is the most effective means of preventing a nation’s health-care facilities from being overwhelmed due to the exponential nature of the disease’s spread if left unchecked.
Unfortunately, it is becoming equally clear that extreme social distancing comes at a terrible cost to society, not least the economy. This is especially true for developing countries and those, such as SA, that have already run out of fiscal space to soften the landing for individuals who lose their jobs and companies that do not have the resources to survive the shutdown.
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