#Perspective: Protect the weak and empower the able

Lockdown was (and to an extent still is) necessary and I applaud President Ramaphosa for taking drastic measures when he did to protect all South African citizens.

We now need to take drastic steps to prevent more businesses from going under.

The tsunami of job losses and the real desperation that will follow may be just as destructive as the health crisis.

I propose that all South Africans be allowed to return to work but with strict social distancing, sanitizing and mask usage in place.

A hairdresser could be allowed to operate, for example, with only a small number of people in the salon at one time, masks stay on and everyone sanitizes hands between customers.

Movement should continue to be strictly controlled but not to the point that people are unable to earn a living.

These Draconian measures are suffocating your people, Ramaphoa – it’s time to let your people go!

We can continue to stay at home when not going to work, not seeing our friends on weekends.

Keep the rules about no large groups of people gathering and keep the beaches closed until schools reopen.

Those at high risk should continue to isolate themselves.

Protect the weak and empower the able.

The outbreak at General Gizenga Memorial Hospital (formerly known as Stanger Hospital) this week is very likely just be the beginning.

But this was predicted and should not be reason to panic.

We were/are in lockdown to prepare for this very thing.

Ever since the announcement of the levels what has bothered me most has been question of ‘How long?’

The uncertainty is hard to get one’s head around.

Will it be weeks or months?

As a business owner this makes it especially difficult to plan ahead.

Last week economic development minister Ebrahim Patel said that the country could rapidly move to stage three of lockdown should we avoid a sharp increase in levels of infections at level four as 1.5 million people returned to work on Monday.

It’s like offering a sweet with one hand and preparing to slap you with the other.

At first Patel’s words brought me some comfort that (hopefully) it would not be long before stage three.

But now I am not so sure.

Certainly if the behaviour of crowds shopping shoulder to shoulder in KwaDukuza CBD and Ballito this week are anything to go by, then perhaps the true severity of the situation is yet to dawn on the average citizen.

Nelson Mandela famously said: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

I believe South Africans have the ability to treat our new freedoms with respect and care.

But why are we not seeing that on the street?

We need to grasp that for jobs and businesses to be preserved we all need to play our part in flattening the curve.

We have seen what has happened in New York and Italy and we are painfully aware of our high HIV and TB rates. But it cannot just be a few who practice social distancing and stay home as much as possible.

Fighting the virus can be done without a lockdown but it requires everyone to play their part.

The World Health Organisation has done a complete turn-around and is now praising Sweden as a “model” for battling the coronavirus as countries lift lockdowns – after the country controversially refused these types of restrictions.

The Scandinavian nation did not just allow the virus to spread unregulated as some claim but largely relied on citizens to self-regulate.

Instead of lockdowns, the country has put in place a very strong public policy around social distancing, around caring and protecting people in long-term care facilities.

Could South Africans be trusted to self-regulate?

If we are to go back to work and restore the economy, I truly hope we can step up to the plate.

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