Matric blowout not all the rage as Covid-19 testing in KZN spirals

Three matriculants who attended the “superspreader” 2020 Ballito Rage Festival have spoken out about how busy some events were following reports of an influx of requests for Covid-19 tests after the annual year-end event. 

Sunday Times Daily reached out to three Rage-goers who attended parties and events across Ballito and Durban held from November 28 to December 5.

The young woman and two young men, who did not want to be named, all seemed to agree the first night of Rage, on November 27, was by far the busiest night of the week. 

However rage's PR team said this night was not officially part of any of their events.

Speaking from isolation, the rage attendees said the first night was overcrowded at many clubs they visited in Ballito and Durban. 

“Friday night was bad and very badly handled. There were definitely more than 250 people at the club I attended,” said an 18-year-old Durban teenager. 

“It was genuinely terrible on Friday. However, the rest of parties I attended were strictly monitored. Sometimes Ragers [the term for officials overseeing the events] would approach you and tell you to put on your mask.” 

Another individual said, in hindsight, the event should never have taken place.

“There were a lot of measures in place and people would tell you to wear your mask if you took it off, but looking back, there wasn’t much social distancing and stuff. I think the organisers should have postponed it. We could have done without Rage this year,” he said. 

One teen said the Sound Factory, which consisted of two stages and tents set up across two fields at Durban’s Kings Park stadium, was much better as it was held outdoors. 

“It wasn’t as packed as some clubs we attended. It would only get busy when big-name artists were about to play a set. The Sound Factory was very strict about masks but the clubs were more lenient.” 

Looking back, there wasn't that much social distancing and stuff. I think the organisers should have postponed it.

Prof Salim Abdool Karim, infectious disease epidemiologist and co-chair of the SA Covid-19 ministerial advisory committee, said superspreading events could be disastrous.

“It is called the 80/20 rule because with infectious diseases like Covid-19, a small proportion of people — roughly 20% — are responsible for 80% of all new infections.”

Abdool Karim said this 20% have very high exposure because they mingle with a lot of people. 

“From this particular incident, Rage in Ballito, the last I heard there were more than 92 cases so there is no question it is a superspreading event.” 

“Under level 1 we have clear regulations and rules. I’m not sure whether the people who attended Ballito Rage flouted the rules. If they did, in my opinion, they should definitely be dealt with legally.”

He said it wouldn’t surprise him if all the parents whose children attended Rage were also in quarantine. 

“It does not mean that automatically we will see a big epidemic because it all depends on how quickly we can find the cases and how many of those who went to Rage are going into quarantine. If they can do all that, we can bring the cases back down. If we can’t, the cases will continue to increase,” he said.

It does not mean that automatically we will see a big epidemic because it all depends on how quickly we can find the cases and how many of those who went to Rage are going into quarantine.

—  Prof Salim Abdool Karim

Rage organisers said every event at the festival was deemed compliant and the full go-ahead was given by the local health department and Durban events department. 

“Our records show attendance was low at the official Rage festival event sites, and we believe this was because of the strict adherence to our extreme Covid-19 mitigation measures put in place, which made the events unpopular. Unfortunately, this meant many attendees chose to go to places — not under the control of Rage — where Covid-19 regulations were less stringent than the ones employed at all Rage venues.”

The committee, comprising of a core management team of 25 people, said this year’s festival ran at a loss.

Roshika Doolabh, public relations manager for One-eyed Jack Staging Events, a company contracted by Ballito Rage, said “extensive health and safety measures” were followed.

“To promote an event is a costly exercise, especially with strict Covid-19 compliance added to the event management process. Rage purposefully hosted a significantly smaller event than previous years.

"We employed extensive health and safety measures to ensure we complied with all national and local government Covid-19 regulations and protocols, including the submission of a detailed and comprehensive Covid-19 compliance plan based on international best practices and in line with SA event Covid-19 guidelines.”

The committee, however, did not respond to questions about how many people had registered to attend its event this year. 

Rage organisers came under scrutiny after a Hillcrest-based doctor took to Facebook on Saturday and said his team had seen an influx in requests for Covid-19 tests allegedly stemming from the festival.

On Sunday, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize urged all those who had attended matric rage parties already to immediately go into a 10-day quarantine. 

On Monday, the organisers of the Rage festivals said all events planned for 2020 and 2021 have been postponed until further notice.

On its Facebook page on Sunday, the Plett Rage had stopped short of postponing the event, saying it was halting ticket sales while taking advice.

"We are aware of the concerning reports of increased Covid-19 cases from people who travelled to Durban last week to celebrate the end of matric exams. Many of these pupils attended one or more of the Ballito Rage events in Umhlanga, Ballito and Durban. We cannot be sure at this time what impact this will have on Plett Rage. We can, however, say we are in constant communication with the officials in Plettenberg Bay and will only act in the interest of our Rager and staff safety.

"At this stage, the outcome of the event is unknown, and we will be making further announcements in the coming days.

"We will immediately stop all Plett Rage sales until further notice. Thanks for your support thus far and for your understanding during this time while we assess the situation and take guidance from officials," the post read.