DAILY COVID-19 INFECTION RATE LOW, BUT ...

MBABANE - With the current daily COVID-19 infection rate at 24, it is slightly higher than the last time the country eased the partial lockdown regulations.

This is according to a close study of the daily COVID-19 statements which revealed that as of March 8, 2021, the country had, on a seven-day period, an  average of 24 cases a day.
Whereas in October 12, 2020, when the late Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini lifted the ban which lasted for over three months, the seven-day average of cases a day was 15. When sought for comment regarding the extension of the partial lockdown against the low daily infection rate, Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) President Bheki Mamba said the quicker the country procured vaccines, the quicker the restrictions in the country would be eased, despite the low infections. He said the daily infection rate could make people think government made the worst decision in extending the lockdown when in fact, it took the best decision.

Extension

“It is complex for us to take a stance on the extension of the partial lockdown as healthcare workers because we know the dire effects of the fast spread of the virus. All we can say is that things would ease if government would quickly procure the vaccines. “People should notice that the countries that have eased their restrictions have started vaccinating. An example is South Africa, which moved form Level 3 to Level 1 after they started rolling out vaccines. Infections may seem low, but they can increase as quickly as they go down,” said Mamba. He pleaded with the public to be lenient with government until they procured the COVID-19 vaccines.

Meanwhile, locals are of the view that the COVID-19 daily average cases have drastically gone down, hence all sectors should reopen. They said the extension of the lockdown was not necessary, especially because the infection rate in the country was now lower than 30 a day, on average. They said this during random interviews conducted by this publication. Worth noting is that the country embarked on the current partial lockdown about seven weeks ago, when the second wave of the pandemic was causing massive devastation. The second wave took the lives of the former PM, Minister of Public Service Christian Ntshangase, Minister of Labour and Social Security Makhosi Vilakati, former Minister Winnie Magagula, Senator Jimmy Hlophe, Conference of Churches President Stephen Masilela and many other prominent figures.

Last Thursday, Acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku extended the partial lockdown by another two weeks, meaning the sale of alcohol, and churches remained banned, school remained closed, retail outlets are expected to close by 6pm and the 8pm to 4am curfew remains, among other restrictions. In his speech, Masuku said the country had hoped that they would have procured the vaccine when they extended the lockdown by two weeks, the first time. Locals have come out to cry foul over the decision, saying people’s livelihoods were being destroyed because of the current restrictions.

“The extension really is disappointing and shows the plight of the people is not understood at all. There is no scientific evidence to support it at all. These are the things that make it difficult to be a businessperson in a jurisdiction where decisions affecting businesses will be implemented without basis. All the sectors (schools, churches and bars) should be reopened with meaningful restrictions that are science-based, if any. We cannot drive the economy into a point of irreparability, without basis,” they said.

Inconsiderate

Mpile Mkhonta of Mbabane said the extension was inconsiderate because it was putting a strain on the country’s economy. “It would have made sense if shops closed at 10pm and government still managed to control the people, rather than everyone rushing to buy bread before 6pm, which still spreads the virus. I also think this partial lockdown is killing us mentally because a lot of people are depressed lately. In Mozambique, they close shops at 10pm. Businesses is booming there,” said Mkhonta. Bubu Masango also from Mbabane said a lot of people depended on their small-medium enterprises (SMEs) for income, making government’s decision inconsiderate.

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