South Africa Prepares for 21-Day Coronavirus Lockdown
challenge the nation has faced in decades, the country's
president warned as he announced the harsh measure Monday night.
On Tuesday, top officials sought to explain the lockdown and justify
the need for strong action as the nation sees a large rise in cases of
the highly contagious coronavirus.
As if to underscore the gravity of the situation as the nation
scrambled to prepare Tuesday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize noted that
the caseload had risen by more than 100 cases overnight, and that two
patients had gone into critical care.
Meaning the lockdown, which begins late Thursday night, is necessary, Mkhize said.
"Our strategy, we said, has to be about flattening the curve," he said. "In other words, we allow the infection to be drawn out in such a way that we get as few people infected as possible so that it does not grow so rampantly as to overwhelm our health services. In that way, we have to behave or take certain decisions that will make it more easier for us to manage it and more difficult for it to spread."
Health
officials have estimated that hundreds of thousands of South Africans
could be infected if the coronavirus is allowed to run rampant. The
nation already has the world's highest burden of HIV, meaning millions
of South Africans are already prone to opportunistic illness.
The government has also brought in the national army to support the
lockdown by limiting movement. On Monday, the day the lockdown was
announced, soldiers were seen on main roads in Johannesburg, the
nation's largest city.
People found in violation of the lockdown could face a fine or one month's imprisonment. However, officials assured panicked South Africans that essential businesses such as pharmacies, laboratories, banks, the stock exchange and financial organizations, supermarkets and gas stations will remain open, and health care providers will be available.
Mkhize, a physician, then prescribed his nation a bitter pill: patience.
"The numbers, we mustn't be shocked when we see them increase," he
said. "But these measures, if we all work together, must turn the curve
around. But it won't happen tomorrow. It won't happen next week. If
there's any change, it will probably take us a couple of weeks before we
can see a turnaround."
On that note, he said, Good Friday and Easter — usually a highlight
of the South African calendar, celebrated with great fanfare in April —
were canceled this year.
VOA
AFEEF:
Hadhwanaagnews marnaba masuul kama aha Aragtida dadka kale. Qoraaga ayaa xumaanteeda, xushmadeeda iyo xilkeeda sida. waxa kaliya oo Hadhwanaagmedia dhiirigalinaysaa, isdhaafsiga aragtida, canaanta gacaliyo talo wadaagga!