Community perserveres through challenges in Level 5

On 26 March, our world as we know it came to a standstill and our communities faced a drastically different year than they had anticipated.

With the start of Level 5 lockdown, many people instantly found themselves without work or a stable income. Despite some of the inconceivable challenges posed by the lockdown, Midrand community members still found it within themselves to assist those who had been most drastically impacted by the lockdown.

When President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on 23 March, he announced that there would be a three-week lockdown. The word at the time seemed so foreign but it has since grown to be a part of our daily vocabulary.

What was planned to be three weeks, expanded to more than six months. At the time, Ramaphosa said, “This is a decisive measure to save millions of South Africans from infection and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

At that stage, there were just 402 confirmed cases in South Africa. As a local newspaper, our role within the community also drastically changed.

Our focus has always been on highlighting community initiatives, municipal concerns, the achievements of youngsters at schools and sporting events. A hard lockdown made all of this virtually impossible.

However, as a team of dedicated journalists, we pivoted and began reporting on our communities’ pressing concerns – How well are local hospitals equipped to cope with a large number of Covid-19 cases? How is the lockdown affecting our most impoverished community members? What can people do to help?

These concerns became the focus of our publication for over six months. As the world continues to grapple with the aftermath, and in some instances, a second surge, the Midrand Reporter team remains committed to providing our readers with the news that is most important to them.

Here are some of the top stories from the time:

https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/249491/citys-clean-taxi-ranks-continues-midrand-sandton/

https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/256733/in-pictures-a-look-at-various-suburbs-around-midrand-during-lockdown/

https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/249653/heavy-loads-cause-a-problem-at-midrand-industrial-park/