‘Love thy neighbour, pray at home’

The exact set of rules for life under lockdown Level 3 have yet to be announced, but government set the cat among the pigeons with Tuesday night’s announcement that religious gatherings will be allowed, albeit with strict regulations.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that church services will be allowed, provided they are limited to 50 people, who must all wear masks and practice hygiene.

The National Coronavirus Command Council has been discussing proposals with religious leaders to determine how norms and standards should be met so as not to increase the spread of Covid-19.

Ramaphosa said lockdown has had a “great impact” on religious communities no longer able to practice their faith within a congregation and that faith was important to many South Africans.

But creating the opportunity to worship in public spaces is not as simple as making congregants sanitise their hands and cover their faces.

Epidemiologists and economists alike have raised the alarm that congregations of people in one space will inevitably increase the number of Covid-19 cases.

“The more people you gather together in close proximity, the higher the probability is that one of them will be Sars-CoV-2 infected. And the longer they spend in close proximity, the higher the probability is that the infection will be transmitted,” said Professor Maia Lesosky, University of Cape Town head of epidemiology and biostatistics.

Lesosky pointed to evidence from epidemics in other countries, which suggested that groups of people in close proximity talking and singing can be a source of infection.

University of Pretoria’s centre for viral zoonoses director Professor Wanda Markotter agreed with Lesosky’s concerns.

Markotter added that the more people there were, the more difficult protocols would become to enforce. This, in turn, would put more people at risk of contracting Covid-19 and consequently put pressure on medical resources that were already stretched thin.

“Any sharp increase in cases will put pressure on healthcare systems. It can be from gatherings or any other activities such as shopping or work-related activities,” Markotter said.

“You just need one infected person to spread the disease. The preventative measures to not get infected and prevent infection is the same for one to one contact versus one to 50,” Markotter said.

But visiting your friends and family could be just as hazardous as participating in religious gatherings.

Markotter said that any increase in one’s exposure to other people, including family, friends and religious institutions, could result in contracting Covid-19, especially if even one person had neglected to follow precautions.

Lesosky said that although there were many factors involved in making the generalisation that attending religious gatherings increased one’s risk of contracting Covid-19, the risk involved in gathering in crowded areas indicated that one had a significantly higher chance of contracting the virus.

Lesosky said the best choice for churches would be to continue hosting virtual services and practising religion at home.

“Individuals can choose to stay away from these gatherings, and leaders of religious institutions can choose to not have these gatherings, and so by our individual efforts we may help slow the spread of Sars-CoV-2.”

Churches versus businesses

Compelling arguments that certain businesses categorised as “high-risk economic activities”, such as hair salons and restaurants, could implement social distancing measures better than churches have been raised.

Hairdressers, for example, have argued that hygiene protocols and scaling down their client lists could easily be done, but remain one of the industries that may have to wait for Level 1 lockdown to be able to reopen.

Free State University pro-vice-chancellor and head of the department of economics, Professor Philippe Burger, said he agreed with the categorisation of high-risk economic activities, because restaurants, bars, hair and beauty salons deliver personal services to their clients that involve coming in close proximity. This poses a problem if just one staff member gets sick and the number of clients they could potentially infect.

Burger said, however, that reopening churches across the country was not a wise decision. He pointed to examples of how church gatherings in South Korea, France and Germany played a significant role in spreading Covid-19.

Even in South Africa, “infection numbers in the Free State are higher than in provinces such as the Northern Cape and the North West because of a single church conference early on in the onset of the virus in South Africa,” he explained.

But despite the risk associated with opening businesses, Burger said this was being done reluctantly, knowing the risk of spreading the disease, to put food on the table. This is not the case with churches.

“We can practice our religion at home to not endanger others or be exposed to the infection ourselves. We are opening up [businesses] because we have no choice.

“Love thy neighbour now truly means keeping your distance from your neighbour,” Burger said.

He said the broad intention with Level 3 was to try and open as many businesses as possible, while implementing social distancing.

“But we need to realise that although these social distancing safety measures might go some way to protect people, they are not foolproof. There will be more infections as a result of opening up,” said Burger.

Restaurant owner baffled:

• Satori Restaurant owner Lloyd Newton told The Citizen he felt a sense of disbelief when it was announced that restaurants and bars would remain closed during Level 3.
• “When one considers that there are strict guidelines put down by the health department for restaurants and bars being allowed to operate, why can’t government incorporate Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines into daily operations?” Newton asked.
• He said restaurants and bars could just as easily spread the virus as supermarkets and other social settings.
• “It’s unfair that restaurants are not part of this partial reopening – what’s the difference between a church seating 50 people and a restaurant seating 50 people?”
• Newton said Satori, like many other restaurants, had implemented stringent health measures to combat Covid-19. This included the regular sanitising of all chairs, tables and menus, social distancing, tables being spread up to one metre apart and all staff being required to wear face shields and carry their own hand sanitiser.
• “My business has taken a huge financial knock, as there was no time to prepare for the lockdown. My employees have also felt the impact financially, as we could only carry them financially for so long.”
• Newton said in the 14 years he has been in the restaurant business, he had never experienced anything so destructive to the livelihoods of his staff members and his own.

– nicar@citizen.co.za

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