30 March 2020
Monday · Day 4 of lockdown
South Africa reported its second coronavirus death and recorded a total of 1 280 cases. To aid those collecting social grants, public transport times were extended for one week. In the US, President Donald Trump announced that stay-at-home guidelines would remain in place until the end of April, although initially it was hoped that the economy might be up and running again by mid-April. In Massachusetts, 11 veterans died in a care home for ex-soldiers. Five of them tested positive for coronavirus.
Tonight President Ramaphosa spoke on TV, and even though I only caught a little bit of his address, I liked what I heard. He thanked all the essential workers, called them our “unsung” heroes, and encouraged the nation to continue practicing social distancing. I think this speech boosted morale, and the fact that he took the time to give such an address even though it wasn’t critical, really shows character.
I said that I was going to start ‘working’ today, but we ended up having a Harry Potter movie-marathon instead. I constantly find myself judging my actions if they don’t really add value to my life in the form of academic knowledge (general knowledge, new literature, knowing more about world affairs), but I’ve made peace with the fact that I am okay to sometimes just watch movies the whole day.
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Today it came to my attention that there are only 4 000 ventilators in the South African private health sector, and around half that number in the public sector. Multiple solutions are being investigated since ventilators are essential for treating critical patients and preventing the mortality rate from escalating. This is a huge concern for South Africa and all of its vulnerable people, the majority of whom will probably need critical attention.
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Another day in lockdown: no excitement at all. All I’ve been doing is eat, sleep and being busy on the phone. I tried doing some schoolwork but I can’t concentrate, and I know I should be using this time to study and prepare, but it’s very hard to focus as I’m constantly worried. I’m worried about my bursary; I’m worried about my family back home. […] I must say this pandemic messed up my finances, I used to have a door-guard job at res and now because of this pandemic at my res there are no door-guards shifts anymore. So, because I don’t have a job, I have decided to go back to Forex. I have been busy with a demo account for a month now. Initially my plan was to trade with a real account from 1 April, but because of this pandemic, I’ve been advised to wait. However, over the coming days, I’ll see what’s happening on the market. I’ll do some technical analysis and check the news as well. I usually watch the news, but lately I feel like I’ll end up being depressed so I limit myself.
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This morning I woke up and checked my phone. I had received some amazing news. My mom’s test results were back. She tested negative for the coronavirus. The doctors said that they are waiting for her lungs to recover and then she can come home. I am so thankful for every prayer our family has received. In this time so many people supported us. My mom is the first patient in South Africa who has been to the ICU for the coronavirus and has tested negative.
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Today was not much different to the last three days, though somehow, I did manage to be quite productive. I must say, it is a very confusing time to be a student. We have already completed a large portion (though not the majority) of the semester, but I have personally only handed in one piece of written work so far. I am wondering if we will be tested on the topics we have already learned, or whether I should be trying to study or to learn ahead.
As I am writing this, I realise that must be how it is for everyone right now, […] interesting times to say the least. Another interesting thing to watch is how the world is trying to stay connected to each other during this time – though there is a kind of singularity about it. I am referring to the world of social media. I have been off social media for about three months now, but my friends are still on it, and I see them trying desperately to let the world know that they are still alive, or maybe to use a better word, relevant. What a time to be alive.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the country tonight. He didn’t give much news, but I think the government is working hard to fight the situation. I hope the economy doesn’t suffer too much. The government might struggle to borrow more money to cover its expenditures, especially in difficult times like this. Apparently, there were two more deaths today in South Africa. People died while collecting their social grants. This is heart breaking, as the reason they got the virus is probably because of poverty and the myriad of problems that it creates. First case recorded in the township; this is surely bad news. I am finding it hard to keep faith.
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This is so insane. I woke up this morning feeling basically completely better! I have all my energy back again and the fever and body aches are gone. I am quite relieved that it wasn’t something more serious.
I feel like today I have been in one of the best moods that I’ve been in for the past two weeks! I spent most of my day playing outside with our dogs and just enjoying being in the garden. I played tennis with my father and my brother which I really enjoyed – the exercise really helps to make me feel like I am doing something meaningful with my time!
My parents are both working from home, but even though we are all in the house the whole day every day, at least we can all get some time ‘apart’ from one another. Not that I don’t want to spend time with them or anything, but it can become too much for me sometimes.
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I went for another drive today. I enjoy the headspace of being able to see some motion and a changing landscape. It feels quite historical as I drive around the deserted streets of the city. I noticed that there are still many refugees in St. George’s square, in the CBD [Cape Town]. I am wondering what will happen to them – they have no access to basic resources and the streets are incredibly unfit for habitation. Furthermore, there are still a large number of homeless persons walking around – I’m not sure that the SAPS has been very effective in relocating them to central locations. […]
Ramaphosa addressed the nation again this evening. He said: “Using mobile technology, an extensive tracing system will be rapidly deployed to trace those who have been in contact with confirmed coronavirus cases and to monitor the geographical location of new cases in real time.” This may sound like a very positive thing, but to me it’s terrifying! I have an aversion to being tracked and using such systems seems very similar to George Orwell’s 1984. It also begs the question: if they have the technology readily available, surely they’re already doing it? I am sure it will help with curbing the spread of the virus, but I do not believe it is strictly ethical.
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I woke up to my laptop pinging with my calendar notification: “END OF RECESS, TERM 2 STARTS TODAY”, and I found myself just staring at the notification for a while. I wrote that notification into my calendar in January. My routine has changed so much and so quickly. I accomplished the first academic goal of lockdown: finishing one of my English seminar novels. It took me an obscenely long amount of time to read the book. But nonetheless, I have achieved my goal. I’ve always thought myself to be quite a goal-oriented person, but during this time I am finding it hard to set goals for myself. It has been suggested to me by multiple people that one way to stay sane during quarantine is to set clear goals for yourself … but how do you set goals when time seems so indefinite?
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The purpose of today’s diary entry is to share my opinions on the implementation of the police and armed forces to curb the virus. I feel that police searching vehicles and people on the road is important because we have to ensure people are not unnecessarily outside. A video on social media is circulating where people in the area of Delft (Cape Town) were dispersed by the police by using water cannon[s]. Even though it was a large crowd, people argue it was not necessary. Many other stories have surfaced saying that the police force has been too aggressive. To see the other side, there have been areas in South Africa where people have been roaming the streets with no reason and refusing to listen to the police. In my opinion, we do not want a situation where the people and the police are divided as it will result in panic, violence and most likely more positive coronavirus cases.