Halfway through the SA COVID-19 lockdown | Observations

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So the entire world has been on lockdown for a while now; each country at it's own schedule but here in South Africa we are on  the afternoon of day 10 of 21. Exactly halfway though confinement, quarentine or self isolation depending on the term you prefer.

I've made some personal observations which I'd like to share with you below;

☆Leadership and governance:

It seems for once, many were happy at government's decision to lockdown the country (borders, & unnecessar gatherings and travel). Critics were still unsure about how to feel and wanted intricate detail but in the end saw the wisdom in it all. with the unique healthcare status and needs of the nation, such a pandemic could not be allowed to freely settle in. High HIV and TB patients populations mean many compromised immunities, compounding to the normal asthma, copd, and smoker's lung, all amount to higher disease burdens. This coupled with extremely poor, densely populated, infomal communities would set the infection, transmission and fatality rates ablaze.
T'was a good call to lockdown the nation.  The "curve" has already flattened and the death toll remains in the single digits. Now to provide sanitary assistance to these communities is the next urgent step which they've promised to make.  

☆Selfishness and hoarding: 

Panic buying images flooded the internet as soon as the lockdown was announced. They quickly became the viral memes of each day. Long queues at wholesalers couldn't go unnoticed as this highlighted not only the privilege often spoken of, of those who have extra savings, vehicles and storage to stack trolleys and trucks in some instances without concern for others. But also the entitlement, and nasty attitudes from those called out despite the repeated warnings to ration supplies and that grocery store would not be closing. I remember an ENCA news presenter checking us all when he said: check your privilege! This was directed at commenters complaining that township habitants queuing at shops for groceries seemed "late" and "ignorant" while they had only just gotten paid/ grants, and were then doing the same as the first priviledged group. 

☆Solidarity and selflessness: the above negativity led to an almost reciprocal positivity spilt between solidarity and selflessness with many showing compassion towards others and donating to shelters and charity. My feeds were inundated with requests to donate and lend a hand or even volunteer. Humanity still lives and kicks in many hearts! This was beautiful to see and must be commended.  Many companies quickly provided hand sanitisers and sent their staff  to work from home. I personally also received many emails from companies reassuring their clients of measures in place to minimize inconveniences and disruptions. Comforting!

☆Fear and faith: 

Then on the spectrum of motives, many were driven by fear while fewer resorted to faith. Churches were praying together until the ban, and switched to live online stations while others were fixated on news channels further feeding their fears... we were not only fighting an invisible virus but also a much more devastating invisible spirit of fear. Today, it seems fear is quenched and under control. The lockdown circumstances have become a new normal and we have all adjusted (as best we can). My encouragement to all those still gripped by fear is to focus on the solutions, not the problems. These solutions are hygienic measures, confinements, healthy eating, immune boosting and practicing peacefulness (quality happy times, meditating, praying, playing games, exercising etc). You can't change the problem but you can replace the time spent pondering on it with solutuons. 

☆Ignorance and unpreparedness: 

They usually say "stay ready so you don't have to get ready" but in this case people's general unpreparedness was suddenly exposed along with their accompanying ignorance in handling infectuous or communicable diseases. Now to be fair, my antiseptic training in pharmacy school and later in oncology drugs handling has given me a stark advantage; but basic hygiene and "no touching" from primary school should've assisted everyone else at least a bit more. It was shoking to hear some people complain about washing hands etc. Till today, the concept of cross contamination with/without gloves + masks and disinfection of surfaces still evades most.  I always cringe when i see someone with gloves touching their phones and clothing or taking their mask off to cough or sneeze! Perhaps here's an opportunity for individuals, companies and governments to put in place messures for handling similar outbreaks and improve overall preparedness for the future.

☆Essentials vs Non-essentials:
In a time of crisis, focus shifts towards what's most urgent and important. The  concept of essential vs nonessential distinguised and reclassified all our professions and everyday items. Essential services quickly became the theme for praise and gratitude, (and this must therefore mean that when we all go gack to normal life, these very 'essentials' should be compensated and their wages/packages reviewed and improved right? especially low or minimum wage workers like cleaners, security, etc.) although mostly directed at doctors and nurses, we had to include PHARMACISTS & their ASSISTANTS to the mix as cornerstones of healthcare in research, clinical trials, medicine manufacturing & production as well as dispensing among many other crucial roles they play.

Even with selecting shopping centers and essential items, slight confusion arose when no consistency was initially observed from outlet to outlet. In some shops you couldn't buy shampoo or face wash, while in others even clothing was still available.  I think by now all nonessential sections are blocked off in all stores. (I wonder who determines what is actually essential and for who? Pregant moms and newborns surely need a lot of the stuff thats blocked off? What about my reading frames that broke and my lens which came out? Opticians are also closed and now I can't read till next weekend..!?)
Oh well, it is what it is; no one will be 100% comfortable in these conditions.  Im grateful theres no real emergency item I can't wait the16th for. How are smokers doing?

We also saw things like traffic and casualty cases drastically reduce. Nonessentials are really clumsy! (jokes)

At the end of the day, we are all we have. Lets be each other's keepers. Lets check on friends and family. Some are lonely and need a phone call. Others are in need of something you may help with.

Africans unite in your beloved Africa;
 fly the UBUNTU flag higher than ever.
We shall emerge stronger. 

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