Tighter lockdown might be only way to curb SA’s enthusiasm for fatigue

Since March last year, South Africans have been assessing the risks and rewards of their lifestyles daily, knowing it is behaviour which could result in sickness or death.

Now, as the third wave engulfs the country, many are letting go of “risk” assessment and simply going about their daily lives. This while others call for tighter restrictions — especially in hardest-hit Gauteng — as they see how having personal agency over behaviour is ending in disaster.

But just how fatigued are South Africans by this pandemic and is now the time to loosen the reins?

According to Prof Hlonipha Mokoena from the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research in Johannesburg, the zeitgeist has shifted from a global effort to individuals choosing for themselves.

Our desire to be in communion with others —  whether in celebration or in mourning — is being tested by a pandemic that doesn’t seem terminable.

—  Professor Hlonipha Mokoena, Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research

“Beyond just weariness and plague fatigue, the epidemic is stressing and straining our identities and sense of self. Our desire to be in communion with others — whether in celebration or in mourning — is being tested by a pandemic that doesn’t seem terminable,” she told Sunday Times Daily.

“What initially felt like a global effort of collective responsibility is now fraying into so many tiny capsules of individualised, maybe even closeted, choices.”

For parenting expert and author Nikki Bush, adults with children have some agency over their own and their children’s behaviour. Since youngsters are driven to socialise as part of their development, it is incumbent on parents to steer them in the right direction, she said.

“Encourage your teens to do outdoor socialising where possible at outdoor venues, hike with friends and so on. Have the discussions with your teens that if they are going to socialise without social distancing and masks then they may risk passing the virus on to their parents or grandparents, who are in a higher-risk category to them,” she said. 

Virology expert Prof Wolfgang Preiser, from Stellenbosch University, said a combination of government restrictions and self-regulations are paramount.

“President [Cyril] Ramaphosa, at the recent ‘family meeting’, did what I believe many colleagues had wished for: namely a moderate tightening of measures to dampen the emerging third wave. Some measures (limits on gatherings, masking and so on) are against the spread of the virus,” he said.

Others, like curfews and restrictions on the sale of alcohol, are to curb crime, motor vehicle accidents, interpersonal violence and other traumas that “pose a massive burden to the healthcare system”.

He said: “Reducing trauma cases will free up capacity needed to treat large numbers of Covid patients.”

When patrons drink while eating a meal, it disincentivises them from moving from place to place. Furthermore, no walks-in should be allowed, while bookings should be restricted to family groups.

—  Prof Wolfgang Preiser, Stellenbosch University

Preiser cautioned against anyone imagining that enough population immunity has been reached to stop the third wave from rising, but said “we will have to see how it plays out” in terms of comparative size to the second wave.

For epidemiologist at the South African Medical Research Council Dr Richard Matzopoulos, the burden of alcohol on the spread of the virus should not be underestimated.

He said it was imperative that drinking establishments “limited the number of patrons” and enforced social distancing.

Also, ensuring good ventilation in drinking spaces is important, while “no stand-up drinking” should be allowed.

He said when patrons drink while eating a meal it disincentivises them from moving from place to place.

Furthermore, “no walk-ins” should be allowed, while bookings should be restricted to family groups.

“This would also help with track and trace,” he said.