'Corona is only here by name': New virus hotspot KZN warned not to slack

KwaZulu-Natal — which has been highlighted as a new Covid-19 hotspot — has shown a slight downward trend in cases within the last five days, but complacency could bring a second surge of infections.

That’s the word from professor Salim Abdool Karim, head of the ministerial advisory committee on the coronavirus, after a five-day assessment of the province.

He said while the figures for KwaZulu-Natal appeared promising — new infections dropped from 2,398 on Friday last week to 1,563 on Thursday — it was no time to “let one’s guard down”.

This week, as the province passed the 100,000 infection mark and registered more than 1,600 deaths, premier Sihle Zikalala called for more mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing. He said the province was on the verge of becoming the centre of the pandemic in SA.

“Many more may die if we don’t change our behaviour,” said Zikalala.

He said people were letting their guard down and gathering in groups.

He urged those who suspected they were infected “not to sit at home” but go to health-care facilities to be tested.

“Government has worked hard to create thousands of beds for quarantine and isolation. There is still a lot of space.”

He said the health department had spent almost R1bn to construct field hospitals and refurbish dilapidated facilities. But many beds have not yet been needed.

Karim said a fear of hospitals was now less of a problem than earlier. “That situation [of people seeking hospital treatment] is now much less a problem. I am not concerned about that problem.

“When you get Covid, the respiratory distress is quite obvious and generally you will be taken to a hospital.”

He warned that complacency could lead to a second surge and that this could apply to provinces such as Free State and Mpumalanga where infection rates were still low, but “simmering”.

“I am most concerned that if complacency sets in and people stop following the rules for mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing, we may see a new increase in infections and that could lead us into a second surge.

“We have seen this in other countries; it is not something that is hypothetical, that when there is a bit of complacency setting in, you get these new outbreaks occurring. People must still be on their guard.”

Karim said he would be able to tell if the province had a “clear and consistent” downward trend after 14 days because of exposure.

The Sunday Times visited hotspot areas identified by Zikalala, including Chatsworth, Phoenix, Westville and Umlazi, to gauge whether residents were abiding by the rules and regulations.

“Some are scared, but I am not afraid of anything, I am fine. The community is not following it [lockdown regulations] properly,” said a Chatsworth resident who identified himself only as Quinton.

Another Chatsworth local, Jenna Buddan, said: “The awareness is out there. It’s just that people are not applying the knowledge given to them.”

Both agreed that social distancing in the south Durban suburb remained a problem.

A few kilometres away in Umlazi, resident Thembelani Mthethwa said: “Corona is only here by name. People are drinking and smoking. At the beginning they were following the rules because the police and the military were here, but after they left it was over.”

Phoenix resident Tashlan Pillay said lockdown regulations “didn’t really apply” to many of them, including certain law enforcement officials.