Level 4 lockdown: Fertile ground for political opportunists

At exactly the same time that President Cyril Ramaphosa was announcing harsher lockdown measures in South Africa, Portugal and Belgium were battling it out in the Euro 2020 football competition, in front of a sizeable crown in a stadium.

The Euro football tournament has seen games played in stadiums full to capacity during the pandemic. In South Africa, public gatherings are outlawed.

The Europeans do not have a death wish. They have functional governments that are ensuring that vaccination is happening across all sectors of their societies.

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Harsher lockdown measures cannot be a long-term solution to this pandemic and, if not careful, government will soon start reaping the unsavoury fruits of the seeds of discontent it is currently sowing.

South Africa has always lagged behind Europe by a couple of months in the progression of the pandemic. The third wave hit Europe during February and March and Ramaphosa and his command council knew that this current third wave was coming.

That is how it has always happened. Europe first, then Africa. When Germany and France were battling lockdown protests in March and April, surely Ramaphosa’s government could have used that for better planning. Planning how to vaccinate better but, better yet, planning for the inevitable full ICU beds and overwhelmed health system.

The protests that happened across Europe against harsher lockdown regulations just over two months ago might seem far removed from this country, but the truth is lockdown and pandemic weariness are just as real right here.

The reasons for the protest by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on 25 June might have been misguided but the fact that their supporters came out in numbers shows that people are generally agitated and are willing to risk it all, including their lives, when they are given what they believe is the right cause to fight for.

The EFF march to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) for them to “expedite” the approval of the Chinese and Russian vaccines was simply an exercise in trying to remain relevant because Sahpra cannot cut corners simply because it’s China and Russia asking. The march did prove people are restless though.

The pros and cons of a liquor ban have been argued before. They are there for all to see. But the effects of shutting down a whole industry simply because government did not do enough to prepare for the third wave that they knew was coming will not be easy to digest for many.

Most people might view the temporary alcohol ban as just a closed bottle store or tavern, but it is a livelihood taken away or driven underground due to poor government planning. It is a job taken away from a waiter or waitress who has had to battle through 15 months of uncertainty over their job because the pandemic and resulting lockdowns have made it near impossible for the hospitality and catering industries to survive.

When a political opportunist comes up and says to the waiter, the tavern owner, the restaurant owner “your real problem is not the pandemic but poor planning and knee-jerk reactions by government”, that politician will not be far off the mark. It will not take much to convince such a person to take to the streets in protest.

Government does not need to perform miracles, it doesn’t need rocket scientists to help see the country through this period. All it needs is to get the basics right. Set up functional vaccination sites, quickly. Vaccinate the majority of those that need it and lockdowns will not be necessary