India, the world’s second most populous country after China, is in the throes of a debilitating Covid-19 pandemic that has not just overwhelmed the country’s poorly resourced health system, but is taking lives in parking bays as it does in hospitals and clinics.
On Thursday, India announced a record 412,262 new Covid-19 cases and a record 3,980 daily death toll as it became the second country to reach more than 20 million infections after the US. The death toll has crossed 220,000.
The poverty and inequality in India almost mirrors our country. The Indian government’s initial nonchalant approach to the second wave almost mirrors the dismissive tone of our government to what seems to be a certain third wave around the corner.
What Mkhize fails to acknowledge is that the panic is informed by history. Not a history of theft of PPE funds. A history of poor management of the coronavirus that led to thousands of South Africans dying needlessly.
Having watched an uncontrollable spectre of death descending on India in the past few weeks, understanding India’s interwoven relationship with SA and the latter’s legendary state incompetence, fear and panic quickly enveloped our country. This was made worse by reports that cargo ships continue to arrive, one from India, with Covid-positive crew. Government was quick to say the fact that the crew is Covid-19 positive does not necessarily mean they had the feared B.1.617 variant first diagnosed in India, which is also considered highly infectious. Tests are being done to establish which variant they had. How long will this take? Our government, unsurprisingly, is taking its time.
Meanwhile, Durban port employees who came into contact with Covid-positive Filipino crew of cargo vessel Eaubonne, which arrived in Durban from India, have been asked to self-isolate. We must all just trust that, without exception, these are all responsible people. The laissez-faire attitude! We know from experience that even when coronavirus killed many South Africans before our eyes in the recently ended second wave, some of our compatriots simply shrugged off the need to isolate. Others simply asked why they should die alone in isolation. Either government is really naïve or simply doesn’t know where these employees are or couldn’t quickly find resources to accommodate them as we await tests.
As the panic set in this week, all health minister Zweli Mkhize could say was that we should not panic. Granted, panicking won’t achieve anything, so on the surface it seems a pointless pursuit. Yet it’s not the mere pronouncement, or condescending rebuke, by Mkhize that will make all the panic disappear.
What Mkhize fails to acknowledge is that the panic is informed by history. Not a history of theft of PPE funds. A history of poor management of the coronavirus that led to thousands of South Africans dying needlessly.
Ahead of the arrival of the coronavirus in SA last year, Mkhize and our government told us, in much the same condescending manner, not to panic. He used words then that he is repeating now: “stringent containment procedures” are in place, “we are currently on high alert”, and so on. The media and civil society pleaded then that government should ensure that, should there be an outbreak, deft use of contact tracing and other means be used to stop the spread. Alas. Our country failed to contain the first 10 people who landed here positive from a trip abroad. And quickly, the killer disease spread throughout the country, with devastating consequences. Many of those who have lost parents, partners, colleagues or children are looking at the devastation in India hoping that history will not repeat itself, hoping that government will not simply issue platitudes but do its work.
It would do us all well to not just accept Mkhize’s dismissive words. It would also do us well to redirect the understandable panic toward putting government under pressure not merely to tell us how to behave, but to make sure it too does everything possible to keep the variant first detected in India away from our shores. It is a demand we must place, with all humility, on government’s table – understanding, too, how unlikely it is for government to achieve. Countries around the world are using travel bans on India, as they have done with SA, to insulate themselves from the vagaries of the mutating virus. On Wednesday, Tanzania suspended flights to and from India. Elsewhere, Poland’s health minister announced on Tuesday it had added India to its Covid travel bans, which include SA and Brazil. The US and many others have imposed travels bans on India and SA.
SA insists, nonetheless, that it will not impose a travel ban on India because this will not stop the importing of the variant.
Kenya reported on Thursday that the B.1.617 variant had been detected there, days after it was detected in Uganda. Africa’s migration patterns mean that our neighbouring countries are as much at great risk as SA is.
The task of keeping SA clear of the B.1.617 variant is made even more difficult for Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration because the country’s borders are as porous as a bottomless tin. But to throw our hands in the air and do nothing is not a solution either. Our airports remain open, security at our ports is almost nonexistent. We are sitting ducks of this virus as our leaders refuse to lead. Secure our ports and impose a ban on Indian travel. This is what the moment requires. It is called prioritising South Africans.
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