Jacqueline Keller: I work in hospitality and the industry has taken a very serious knock, so much so that it seems I will be without a job at the end of the month. I am on leave until the end of the month and then I will be told if I have a job or not.
Glenda Freeman Stoffberg: It’s all good and well to close the schools, I don’t have a problem with that. Government is playing it safe. My concern is the parents that have to go to work. We as parents can bring the virus home to our kids. At the moment my company does not even have hand sanitiser. We have employees that came from Corona-infected places in South Africa. They travelled by car so they have not been tested, therefore the spreading of the virus at the workplace is very high. Unfortunately a lot of us cannot afford to stay at home without pay which is making the situation worse.
Chris Haukohl: There is not much water in the Eastern Cape, so everyone washing hands for 20 seconds will run our dams dry. Nobody will turn off the tap while washing.
Afrika Mbono: My concern is why the minister said that South Africa is ready. All we hear now is, “we are working on…”, “We are in a process of…” Where is the readiness? Cough through your elbow…the same elbow you are told to use for greeting.
Marilynn Landman: I have very mixed feelings about what my opinion is. On the one hand I know people live day-to-day and that most just survive by way of basic living, that working is the only way to live nowadays. On the other hand, I feel like they need to close all non-essential stores/businesses for two weeks if not more and people need to self-quarantine for that time to stop the outbreak from spreading. For that to maybe even be an option, they would have to suspend all payments for rent, debt, etc. Regardless, we are going to come out this broken and broke. I pray so hard every day for all this suffering. It’s heart-shattering as a mother to have your biggest treasures (children) go through this and not really understand what is happening. God bless South Africa.
Katy Whitehouse: The biggest challenge at this point of the outbreak is trying to do my daily shopping and top-up on groceries. Seeing as the nation has gone into the “panic spree” shopping for no real reason. It’s selfish and uncalled for. I’m lucky enough to be able to work from home, so with regard to schools closing earlier and the holidays being extended, it’s not too much of a problem. The schools sent homework for the kids to do so they don’t fall too far behind, but keeping them and myself sane will soon become difficult.
Dalray Stassen Burger: My friend was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December 2019. She does not have medical aid. She was scheduled to have her womb removed on Monday, March 16, 2020, and was advised that due to the virus outbreak all non life-threatening operations have been cancelled. How do you get to make such a decision over someone’s life that has been patiently waiting for her operation to be done? They were able to advise her after the operation how far the cancer had spread. How can a fragment of hope that one human being was clinging to just be put on hold because the virus is coming? Don’t medical practitioners and hospitals have a conscience to put this human being’s life on hold indefinitely just so that they can prepare for what is coming and it’s not here in the Eastern Cape yet? Shocking, is all I can say! When you become a doctor you are sworn in under an oath to save lives, be of value to humankind; now they turn their backs on her for a virus that we must prepare for, that is coming. Sit back and relax in the meantime because it is coming. Shame on you!
Datjoe Hamer: Call me a contrarian but I believe that the reaction to the Coronavirus by governments around the world is misguided and fundamentally wrong. The economic impact of the new rules on travel, isolation, social distancing, etc. on businesses, people’s pay and jobs will be catastrophic. Airlines, restaurants, coffee shops, pubs and clubs will all cease to exist. Whole business sectors will be wiped out. Governments are promising massive financial interventions and support, billions and trillions of dollars, pounds, euros, rand, etc. to prop up the economy. Yet most governments are already massively in debt. How do they service that debt? Government income is from taxes on you and me! So they borrow more while the tax revenues are falling like a stone, the future is beginning to look very grim. Hence we should rather let the virus run its course. A 3% death rate is not that much different to a common flu. People have to catch the virus in order to build up immunity anyway and Mother Nature is smarter than us anyway!
