Lockdown: the panic in Cyril’s eyes
The president, renowned for his serenity, spoke of the possibility of “hundreds of thousands” of coronavirus infections and plans to bring in the army to ensure the lockdown is enforced
On Monday, when President Cyril Ramaphosa stood up to announce a 21-day national shutdown, there was panic in his eyes. The president, renowned for his serenity, spoke of the possibility of “hundreds of thousands” of coronavirus infections and plans to bring in the army to ensure the lockdown is enforced.
Ramaphosa appeared presidential, and this crisis has strengthened his legitimacy. Even political rivals are backing him. It makes you shudder to imagine what would have happened had his predecessor been in charge: the Gupta-run VR Immunology would have scooped the tender for Covid-19 tests, appointments to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases would be decided in Saxonwold, and infection rates would be announced at a daily New Age breakfast.
But while Ramaphosa seems in control, this isn’t exactly true. Confirmed cases are rocketing — from 274 to 402, to 554 in three days — and there aren’t enough testing kits in the country, which means people don’t know if they’ve got Covid-19, and aren’t being stopped from spreading it. This is a problem since the evidence from South Korea suggests the one way to stem a pandemic is to test widely and ruthlessly. The lesson from South Korea, as The New York Times put it, is “swift action, widespread testing and contact tracing, and critical support from citizens”.