What we have learnt from our war against Covid-19 virus

OPINION - THE history of South Africa can be told through the many wars that were fought on this southern-most tip of Africa.

The list of men and women who fought for the country is long. And in the past few months it got longer.

The numbers show that as a nation we have won the first round of the battle against Covid-19.

And while the war continues, we can take confidence in the fact that we now know a lot more about this enemy than we did before.

We also know how to defeat it.

In March, when the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, the situation looked dire.

We were dealing with an enemy we knew little about and could not see.

When President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the national lockdown on March 23, the country had just over 400 known people infected with the virus.

Almost five months later we have roughly 600 000 known cases and about 12 000 fatalities.

But, as a nation, we’ve fought bravely.

It’s reflected in the fact that almost 80% of those infected have recovered.

Our mortality rate (roughly 2%) puts us on par with a developed country like Japan and better than the likes of the US, Germany, Switzerland, China and the UK.

We must give thanks to Ramaphosa, our Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and all those who supported them.

Without their leadership, the outcome could have been different.

This is not to say our battle plan was perfect or that implementation was surgical.

But despite the many mistakes, we avoided a human catastrophe.

We were able to control the spread of infection in a way that ensured our health system did not collapse.

The victory has come at a huge cost to the economy.

But we knew that would happen. Our priority was to save people from the virus.

While the war continues, Covid-19 has forever shaped our country and each of us.

The mask we wear is an ever-present reminder that silence is not a bad thing, especially when you have nothing good or substantial to say.

Physical distancing has emphasised the importance of establishing boundaries with others and respecting their boundaries.

Sanitising is a constant reminder of how important it is to keep yourself and your environment clean.

Covid-19 has taught us how important our health is.

We need to watch what we eat and how much we eat.

We need to exercise regularly and manage our levels of stress.

We also need to rethink our need for, and perhaps our addiction to, alcohol and tobacco.

If we didn’t previously, we now know how important it is to have our finances in order - to live within our means and save for emergencies.

Covid-19 has no doubt caused untold pain and suffering.

But it has also forced us to remember some important life lessons.

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