After what has been annus horribilis for planet Earth, it is understandable that many were looking forward to the dawn of a new year and the promise of something better. Tiny, unseen monsters who rendered humanity largely hapless as they devastated economies and lives by the millions across the globe stole last year.
It is human nature to look forward to new beginnings in the hope of affording ourselves the chance to start afresh with vigour and a new sense of belief in our abilities and destinies. This year presents such an opportunity for humankind.
Not all was lost to Covid-19 last year. The news of success in the manufacture of vaccines in laboratories the world over to take the fight to the coronavirus was welcomed. Such breakthroughs carried with them a glimmer of hope for a world population at the mercy of the virus.
The discovery of a really potent vaccine, as we speak, represents hope rather than a silver bullet or a magic wand to wipe away the hardships wrought by the pandemic. It leaves our fate as a people in the hands of individuals.
Covid-19 might well be a global pandemic, but like every disease, the fight will in the end be faced by the individual. The success of the war depends on the foot soldier: the individual.
Honestly, anyone out there who might claim to have had not heard the message repeated ad nauseam on how they can help curb the spread of the disease has no interest in saving lives, including their own.
We witnessed President Cyril Ramphosa on the brink of tears when he announced that he was returning the nation to a revised Covid-19 alert level 3 of the national lockdown. The president was at pains to preach what the government and responsible civil society have been preaching since the first cases of the pandemic were reported on our shores.
There is only so much a government can do. In the end it will boil down to responsible behaviour if we are to turn the tide against Covid-19. It is, in the famous valedictory words of our beloved father of the nation, Nelson Mandela, “in your hands now”.
Chief among the habits encouraged of people is the regular washing and sanitisation of hands to avoid infecting ourselves. The second pillar of the regime is to cover our noses and mouths with masks to avoid spreading the virus to those around us. Another is social distancing, which we believe, the lack of has brought the country to where it is now.
Let this indeed mark the start of our victory against Covid-19 and that it is in our hands. Let’s do the right thing even when no-one is watching.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.