29 March 2020
Sunday · Day 3 of lockdown
In Mozambique, 60 people went missing after a deadly jihadist attack on the town of Palma. Amongst these were several South Africans, and rumours soon arose that the SADF would be deployed on a mission to rescue its citizens. Spain recorded 838 new coronavirus deaths while UK citizens were told to prepare for a ‘significant period’ of lockdown measures. The first major international research study into the treatment of Covid-19 was initiated by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The study, called Solidarity, began treating patients at the Oslo University Hospital in Norway and treatments to be tested included the malaria drug (hydroxychloroquine/plaquenil), the Ebola drug (remdesivir), as well as an HIV treatment (Iopinavir/ritonavir).
We’ve received emails from the university and from lecturers trying to gauge our situations in terms of internet access. It’s good to hear that the university is taking care to establish what our current circumstances are, but I am wondering what will be done to accommodate learners who genuinely don’t have any devices or internet connectivity – surely a computer plus internet access cannot be given to every student, and it would go against the guidelines of the lockdown to bring said students together where there aren’t the necessary internet facilities.
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Coronavirus is causing a lot of death. I feel like it was a plan set forth by some evil people in the world who wanted to decrease the world population. My parents refuse to go to the shops. Not even for bread. They will only go when they feel it is really necessary. I am afraid that the toilet paper might run out.
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Third day of lockdown. They haven’t released the number of new cases today. The government also only released 17 new cases yesterday, which is impossible. They say it is because of the delay in getting test results and analysing them and then releasing them to the public. I started the day off with live stream church. Think it is good families are praying to God together and seeking His word and advice during these tough times. I watched Netflix and played computer games most of the day. Time seems to go fast that way. I started a yoga challenge and practiced piano. Family did puzzles and boardgames together. I miss going out to restaurants and seeing friends on the weekends. The fridge is starting to look empty again and the snacks in the cupboard are depleting; almost time to go out to the shops for groceries again.
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On this Sunday evening I am feeling a sense of deep gratitude for the privileged position which I occupy. I have a roof over my head, food guaranteed each day, two loving parents who do not abuse me (or any substances), two sisters to keep me company, the resources to keep up with academics and enough personal space. Many people are not so lucky and that thought truly saddens me.
The family unit, the basic building block for a functioning society and thus also the economy, is being restored in some sense, yes. But the broken homes, those affected by child abuse, social work cases and lawsuits aren’t being restored – and even though I know it would’ve been the case regardless of the virus, this just makes me extremely aware of how lucky I am, lucky to have this type of family and also lucky to know that all my family members are safe under one roof. Maybe the restoration of the family unit will bring about a realisation of what is actually important in life. This new found sense of compassion could replace the habit of exploitation we see every day in the business world. If not, humanity is more lost than I thought.
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This Sunday we tried to keep the day as normal as possible. We obviously could not go anywhere, but we decided to have a good family lunch, discussing the effects the lockdown would have on small business owners and employees. We agreed that, with the first positive case in the township of Khayelitsha have been reported, stopping the virus could become more difficult. The township is densely populated with bad sanitation. It would, therefore, not be surprising if more people in townships test positive in the next few days. It is important for the government to take action.
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Even though today is a Sunday, I feel extremely guilty. It has been a week and a half since coming home from university and it seems like I have not been able to do any work. Although I did try to go through a few chapters from some of my modules, I do not know if anything has really sunk in. Speaking to my friends, going through Twitter and other social media platforms this seems to be a common thread. Quarantine has ignited a productivity obsession and we all feel like we are failing miserably at it. From articles and posts that discuss how some of the greatest writers, artists and innovators created some of their best work while living in isolation, to us feeling like we have more time now than we have ever had and ever will have, people seem to be putting a lot of pressure on themselves to write that novel, learn that instrument or get ahead with work.
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Today it dawned on me what a negative economic impact lockdown will have on South Africa. I saw a video of a convenience store being ransacked and I can’t help but think that this lockdown may be more harmful than helpful. As much as South Africans hate to admit it, we are still a third world country. Can we really sustain a period of no work, no economy at all for three weeks? I doubt we can without there being very serious consequences. My reservations may come from the fact that I am Zimbabwean and I know that circumstances can actually get worse even for those at the lower end of the poverty scale in this country. Perhaps, though, my thinking has also been influenced by my typically cynical (and probably right to be) economics lecturers who have taught me that even before this crisis, the projections for South Africa weren’t good. Either way, I think it is important, especially economically thinking, to be aware of the costs that may be incurred as a result of this lockdown.
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Our church is now being held online. It felt weird, but this whole situation is weird. We all just sat in our lounge in front of the T.V. During the first half we were all still having our breakfast. Not good, I know, but yeah. We do feel more relaxed though because we can finally wake up a little bit later. It is a more relaxed life; we work around the house, and it feels like the earth is telling us to take a break. I think this is how people in the past used to live, without much competition.
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The first case was reported in Khayelitsha today. When I imagine the effects of this virus on townships, for some reason the image I conjure up is that of a domino falling and then seeing the whole township fall down. CNN did a cover on townships in SA not adhering to lockdown rules, but the reporting seemed so one-sided. It didn’t delve deeper into why people weren’t isolating; just that they weren’t.
How can a family of six stay in a one-bedroom shack? This was the question posed by one of the residents in the report. The profile on the township just angered me. Not because they weren’t adhering to the rules but the fact that people couldn’t understand why they weren’t. When looking at lockdowns in townships, how can we get angry that people are not adhering to the rules? They live in confined spaces with limited resources. If I’m going through mental hoops every day in the space that I have, I can’t imagine being in their situation. […] To be angry, in a way, would not only be naive but ignorant of their circumstances over and above the commonality that we all share – the virus.
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Today I woke up at 10:00 am. My brother and I walked to the nearest Woolworths. We only saw about ten people on the way there and maybe eight inside the store. It feels like one of those movies where a zombie apocalypse hits earth, and all the towns and cities are deserted. It’s actually a bit scary. I wouldn’t feel safe to walk to the store by myself.