{"id":24132,"date":"2020-03-24T10:28:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T10:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southafricajournal.com\/?p=24132"},"modified":"2020-03-25T10:30:50","modified_gmt":"2020-03-25T10:30:50","slug":"south-africa-prepares-for-21-day-coronavirus-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southafricajournal.com\/south-africa-prepares-for-21-day-coronavirus-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa Prepares for 21-Day Coronavirus Lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

JOHANNESBURG\n– South Africa’s 21-day lockdown could be the biggest challenge the nation has\nfaced in decades, the country’s president warned as he announced the harsh\nmeasure Monday night.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\nTuesday, top officials sought to explain the lockdown and justify the need for\nstrong action as the nation sees a large rise in cases of the highly contagious\ncoronavirus.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\nif to underscore the gravity of the situation as the nation scrambled to\nprepare Tuesday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize noted that the caseload had risen\nby more than 100 cases overnight, and that two patients had gone into critical\ncare.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meaning\nthe lockdown, which begins late Thursday night, is necessary, Mkhize said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our\nstrategy, we said, has to be about flattening the curve,” he said.\n“In other words, we allow the infection to be drawn out in such a way that\nwe get as few people infected as possible so that it does not grow so rampantly\nas to overwhelm our health services. In that way, we have to behave or take\ncertain decisions that will make it more easier for us to manage it and more\ndifficult for it to spread.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health officials have\nestimated that hundreds of thousands of South Africans could be infected if the\ncoronavirus is allowed to run rampant. The nation already has the world’s\nhighest burden of HIV, meaning millions of South Africans are already prone to\nopportunistic illness.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government has\nalso brought in the national army to support the lockdown by limiting movement.\nOn Monday, the day the lockdown was announced, soldiers were seen on main roads\nin Johannesburg, the nation’s largest city.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People found in\nviolation of the lockdown could face a fine or one month’s imprisonment.\nHowever, officials assured panicked South Africans that essential businesses\nsuch as pharmacies, laboratories, banks, the stock exchange and financial\norganizations, supermarkets and gas stations will remain open, and health care\nproviders will be available.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mkhize, a physician,\nthen prescribed his nation a bitter pill: patience.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The numbers, we\nmustn’t be shocked when we see them increase,” he said. “But these\nmeasures,  if we all work together, must turn the curve around. But it\nwon’t happen tomorrow. It won’t happen next week. If there’s any change, it\nwill probably take us a couple of weeks before we can see a turnaround.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On that note, he said,\nGood Friday and Easter \u2014 usually a highlight of the South African calendar,\ncelebrated with great fanfare in April \u2014 were canceled this year.  
\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Voice of America<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s 21-day lockdown could be the biggest challenge the nation has faced in decades, the country’s president warned as he announced the harsh measure Monday night.   On Tuesday, top officials sought to explain the lockdown and justify the need for strong action as the nation sees a large rise in cases … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nSouth Africa Prepares for 21-Day Coronavirus Lockdown - South Africa Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southafricajournal.com\/south-africa-prepares-for-21-day-coronavirus-lockdown\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Africa Prepares for 21-Day Coronavirus Lockdown - South Africa Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s 21-day lockdown could be the biggest challenge the nation has faced in decades, the country’s president warned as he announced the harsh measure Monday night.   On Tuesday, top officials sought to explain the lockdown and justify the need for strong action as the nation sees a large rise in cases ... 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