With over 52 000 lives lost to the deadly Coronavirus in the country in just a year, South Africans are reflecting on a year gone-by since President Cyril Ramaphosa put the country on hard Lockdown Level 5, in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus that has claimed 2.5 million lives across the world.
The total number of healthcare workers vaccinated under the Sisonke Protocol on 31 March, is over 250 000. Dr Zanine Moyce, a specialist anaesthetist who lives in New Dawn Park, said she feels fortunate to have received the vaccine on the first day of the roll-out in the province. “Being a frontline worker, I have seen devastating consequences of Covid and I now have some peace of mind knowing that my family and I have our risk reduced,” said Dr Moyce.
Since lockdown restrictions a year ago, not only have lives been lost but many people have lost their jobs due to retrenchments and closure of businesses. Most residents are now living from hand-to-mouth due to the financial constrains they are facing as the ‘road’ to have all communities vaccinated continues.
The Springfield Weekly Gazette spoke to some residents who reflected on the negative impact the pandemic had on their lives. An events company owner, SlinkFola Events’ Mbuyiselo Fola said: “Our businesses suffered severely because of the lockdown restrictions. As a small business we had to let go some of our staff because business was static. Having to lose some of the company cars was devastating. Which business can survive without any profit or income? We thank Allah that we managed to keep the doors open because business is slowly picking up again. Covid-19 also affected people’s livelihoods. So, our customers themselves are still trying to recover financially.”
Newlands West based musician, Scelo Gowane said, it has really been a tough year for him as he has not been getting bookings due to lockdown restrictions.
“The lockdown restrictions financially disrupted my life. There are no bookings and as a music producer as well, I have not been getting artists to book studio sessions for recording at my studio. In a year, there has been no music festivals, events and promotional tours because we have been restricted, and that has restricted our income as artists and entertainers. I have lost sponsors as they also do not have funds to sponsor me due to the tough economic times. I hope the vaccine gets to all community members soon,” said Gowane.
A Durban central based restaurant owner who wished to remain anonymous said: “Since Covid started I lost about R15 million worth of revenue. I had to let go of 50 percent of my staff and this had a negative impact on their families as well because the staff are breadwinners. During lockdown I had to close the restaurant for about six months and when we opened doors again it felt like it was a waste as we did not make enough revenue to keep us going.”
He said that a year later, on level one he is only getting 15 percent of normal customers which he had before Covid as people are still skeptical about going out. “When we do get patrons we always encourage them to follow Covid regulations for the safety of everyone. With the looming third-wave my fear is that, we will get back to tighter restrictions and we will lose more revenue as restaurant owners. We hear of the business relief from government but have had none of it due to corruption, only certain ‘special’ people have access to the funds,” he said.
Professor Bonke Dumisa, an independent economic analyst said: “The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has had devastating negative effects on all communities in South Africa, but was even more devastating on the low income or unemployed black communities. Various studies show that at least two million South Africans lost their jobs in the past 12 months since the 16 March 2020 when the Disaster Management Act measures were first introduced in South Africa, and especially since 26 March 2020 when the national lockdown measures were first introduced. Looking at the types of jobs that have been able to survive the various types of restrictions since March 2020, we note that it is mostly the higher skilled categories that could be virtually delivered.”
Speaking about the solution to Covid-19 financial issues for business people, the restaurant owner said it all depends on how quick the government can get the vaccine rolled out to all residents. “The more people get vaccinated, the more they will be comfortable to go out to restaurants and other public places.”
