Corona mutation in South Africa: ″ We are concerned about similarities ″ | Africa | DW

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  How South Africans deal with the curfew

  Johannesburg stays at home

  Good for those who have a balcony: Residents of a house in Johannesburg’s Hillbrow district watch as the police try to enforce the nationwide curfew on the street.

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  How South Africans deal with the curfew

  An arm’s length apart

  In front of a supermarket in Yeoville, Johannesburg, the safety margin does not quite work out. Strict measures against the spread of the coronavirus have been in place across South Africa since March 27.

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  How South Africans deal with the curfew

  Seating arrangement when shopping

  In a shopping center near Pretoria, chairs provide social distance between those waiting. At the moment, only groceries and essential products can be sold in South Africa, all other shops must remain closed.

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  How South Africans deal with the curfew

  No gatherings, no alcohol

  Public gatherings of any kind are also banned throughout South Africa – as is the sale of alcohol and cigarettes. Eight men in Johannesburg ended up playing cards at the police station.

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  How South Africans deal with the curfew

  Military in the residential area

  As here in Cape Town, soldiers from the South African army are now patrolling the country’s streets. President Ramaphosa had previously ordered that the military should also take on police duties during the crisis.

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  How South Africans deal with the curfew

  Rabiate methods

  Police and security forces are also reportedly using tear gas, batons and rubber bullets to enforce the measures. Defense Minister Mapisa-Nqakula condemned the violence on Monday and promised consequences.

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  How South Africans deal with the curfew

  Worry in the townships

  In the township of Khayelitsha on the outskirts of Cape Town, a health worker explains why keeping your distance is important. This is especially difficult in the country’s overcrowded slums. The police and the military have now moved into townships and are sometimes using force to enforce the curfew – according to residents.

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  How South Africans deal with the curfew

  Protection for the homeless

  Police escort a homeless woman to a collection point in Johannesburg’s Central Business District. The government has announced that it will provide safe housing for all homeless people during the curfew.

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  How South Africans deal with the curfew

  Nothing works anymore

  The train depot in Johannesburg is full: all local and long-distance connections are canceled for the duration of the curfew. Taxis and buses, on the other hand, are allowed to continue driving subject to conditions in order to bring systemically important workers to their jobs.

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  How South Africans deal with the curfew

  Curfew until mid-April

  The curfew in South Africa should last until at least April 17th. The number of confirmed corona cases in the country – the Ministry of Health reported 1353 on Tuesday – should continue to rise by then despite the measures. President Ramaphosa announced massive tests across the country in the coming days.

  Author: Jan Philipp Wilhelm

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I think there is a little bit of fatigue from the measures now. You can see with more and more people – interestingly also with the wealthy – that they put the mask at half-mast or only wear it as chin protection or not at all.

Ultimately, I can’t quite understand it. I think different effects are overlapping here. Thorough investigations will have to show that. Our summer at the moment should actually counteract this, but who knows, maybe it would be even worse without the nice weather.

What did African countries learn from the first wave?

I don’t want that to be sarcastically misunderstood, but sometimes it is a bit comforting for me to look to the global north, to the richer countries, and to see how difficult it is for them too. Sometimes that makes me think: a lot of things are not good here, but they are not that much worse either. It is not a complete failure. A country that is used to dealing with shortages probably makes things easier, better and faster than an industrialized country, where the claim to perfectionism still floats.

I can only speak for my province of the Western Cape. A lot was learned here. For example, ventilators were found in good time. We have also set up field hospitals in halls and exhibition centers, which work very well on a relatively simple level. We give patients what they need without going to the hospital because the hospitals are full.

Continuing to wear a mask diligently, like here in Johannesburg, is one of the most important means in the pandemic

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I see with horror that the Eastern Cape, which did not have enough hospital beds, especially with oxygen, in the first wave, did not have enough again at the beginning of the second wave at the beginning of September. You really have to ask: Where have the hundreds of millions seeped away here? Because that’s what the money was for, to build it up.

How can the second wave in Africa be stopped?

We have to fall back on what we have learned now in 2020: wear a mask, keep your distance, keep social life as outdoors as possible. Wrapping something like this in positive message is good: “When you wear the mask, you’re protecting Grandma.” But maybe something deterrent is needed by now. Maybe you really have to show: “A party was celebrated here and now grandpa is dead”. Like the cigarette packet on which the smoker’s lung is depicted.

I’d almost like to assume that this new variant of the virus might shake people up. When you hear that it is a variant that is much more infectious than the old one, which may cause even more serious illnesses. Whether it will be confirmed or not. That people say: “Now I have to be careful.” If that does enough, the number of infections will decrease and that would be very desirable.

Professor Wolfgang Preiser Head of the Department of Medical Virology at the University of Stellenbosch near Cape Town in South Africa. Preiser contributed to the discovery of the mutation in South Africa.

The interview was conducted by Silja Fröhlich.

The conversation was shortened and edited to make it easier to understand.

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