Reflections on Covid 19
In January 2020, when the first reports emerged from China of a worrying new virus, and even in March that year, when South Africa went into a three week lockdown, few of us would have been able to predict the extraordinary impact of Covid-19 on all aspects of life. It has claimed 90 000 lives in this country, devastated the economy and sent thousands into unemployment; social, cultural and religious activities have been curtailed; families have been traumatised in myriad ways; various pre-existing problems, from poverty to domestic violence, have been exacerbated; and suspicion and mistrust of the authorities, both political and medical, often fuelled by inconsistent or ill-considered directives, have bedevilled efforts to control its spread. All the while, corruption, the bane of our national life, was siphoning off money meant for protective equipment or social relief. At the same time, much good has also come of it. All over the country, communities spontaneously mobilised to help those in need, especially during the early lockdowns, when so many people in the informal sectors of the economy suddenly found themselves without income. Welfare and charitable organisations responded magnificently, as did many businesses. Government, routinely the target of criticism for doing ‘too little, too late’, came up with a special grant for those rendered indigent and provided various other forms of regulatory and fiscal assistance.
Its efforts may have been patchy, but they certainly made a positive difference in many people’s lives. It will take years, even decades, to grasp the full impact of Covid-19. Indeed, if it continues to mutate and throw up new variants, the disease may be with us indefinitely, like flu. All the more reason, then, to try to understand as much as we can about its societal effects. This is what the five papers in this booklet attempt to do. Each has been written by an expert in their field, and each tries to assess both the negative and, where possible, the positive aspects of the pandemic in their area of work. They provide interesting and accessible overviews, rather than highly-detailed technical analyses, and they all tell part of the story of Covid-19’s impact on us and of how we responded – or, in some cases, failed to respond. We are grateful to Catholic Relief Services (CRS) of America, which has supported our work for many years, for making funds available for this publication; to Productive Images for their excellent editing and layout work; and to the five authors for generously sharing their insights and experience. We hope that you find the publication interesting, and we welcome any feedback or comments to info@cplo.org.za
Mike Pothier Programme Manager
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