Everyone must be on board to fight virus

The battle against the novel coronavirus is still far from being won. It is a battle that calls for everyone across the globe to stand shoulder to shoulder.

If we don’t pull together the consequences are  too dire to contemplate. 

The virus knows no class  as has been shown by the death rate in powerful countries such as  the US  where close to 60,000 people have succumbed to the disease.  

We in the Eastern Cape are worried as figures for positive cases have catapulted the province to number four in the country. 

It is heartbreaking to witness how lockdown regulations are being broken in our province.  

Earlier this week the Daily Dispatch was inundated  with calls from people around  Buffalo City Metro (BCM) complaining  about long queues of people  outside supermarkets  waiting to redeem their food vouchers.

Social distancing, which is key in fighting  the pandemic, was ignored and only a handful of people had masks.

Vulnerable people in those long queues were concerned about their next meal, oblivious of who might be the  next person to catch this virus.  

In many areas in BCM it is still business as usual. Sadly this happens on the backdrop of the metro being flagged as one of the epicentres of the virus. 

Food vouchers distributed by the metro is one of the many  relief programmes meant to cushion the needy  during the lockdown.

We applaud the metro for the initiative, but this must be balanced with safety for the beneficiaries. And this is where political leadership has failed. 

Surely politicians can do more to educate our vulnerable communities about the dangers of the pandemic. 

During electioneering loud hailers are used to remind people about voting. Why can’t  a similar method be deployed to remind people about the pandemic? 

A better strategy of distributing and redeeming vouchers must be devised as a matter of urgency. For instance allocating collection slots for each household would go a long way in making sure that only a few people are out there in any given time.

To flatten the pandemic curve in our metro, scenes like those  of  long queues we saw earlier in the week must not be repeated.  

Those in the frontline are already overwhelmed  and it is everyone’s duty to make sure infections are kept to the bare minimal. 

Lets heed the call to stay home and safe. It is in our hands to  win or lose this battle.