SOS

Steve on Sunday

13 December 2020

Greetings my fellow second wavers

Well, well, well. The first plague wave surfed, so done and dusted and according to the specialists, whoever they may be, we are now into the second wave. The governing party is once again rubbing their hands in collective glee as it appears they wish, despite publicly stating that it will not happen, to lockdown many more areas. Nonsense you say? Really. Port Elizabeth is there already with a few more tweaks coming up.

The KZN government this last week has received reports and proposals to possibly shut down the Durban/eThekwini beaches over the Christmas and New Year period. This could be hilarious if it were not so serious. Is this why the military is on immediate standby – to help in stopping the tens of thousands from streaming – live streaming I may add – on to the famous beaches of the once world renowned Golden Mile. About the only thing golden during the festive season on the marine parade these days are those not so aromatic golden showers.

Back to the proposed shut down of beaches which shall irritate so many descendants of King Shaka, these descendants also world renowned for their instinct and ability to fight so well at any given time or moment. Remember Isandhlwana of January 1879? You do not? Ooops sorry, only I remember those days. No beaches on that battlefield but there are hundreds of graves of imperial soldiers.

Anyway, the well-known KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala – whom I have never heard of before today – but I am sure is very popular in Zulu territory, says no decision has yet been taken. Hmmmmm. Really?

“At this stage, there is no decision the provincial government has taken, or is contemplating taking, with regards to the closure of the beaches. This may only change based on the assessment of the situation on the ground and based on advice by medical experts.” So said the Premier.

Time shall tell of course, as it always does. Am I finished with this plague that emanated from the far east? Not yet, sorry about this. I know at least two readers do not relish the thought of reading about it as well as seeing it on the telly.

So how are we doing in the Kalahari in regard to this plague that is supposed to be one of the worst ever. Really?

I think we are doing very well considering we have no beaches to shut down. Except Boshof beach but we won’t go down that road except to say that it is/was a sort of lover’s lane area. Still open for nocturnal business I believe.

We in the Northern Cape have had 333 deaths according to the latest stats, nowhere near the usual death figures for influenza, tuberculosis or HIV/Aids for the same period last year. Which was April to end November.

Surprisingly, unlike many others who know of no-one who has died from the plague, I know at least six in Kimberley, four of whom died in the last two weeks from covid.

Be that as it may, the news of the plague and the laws of the land pertaining to the pandemic appear to not have reached the ears of the masses. During the week and on Friday evening the Kimberley public gardens and the main road adjacent was closed to traffic so that the people could have a party. And what a party it was too. There was also a party at the Oppenheimer Gardens and the three nightclubs in the CBD caused chaos with overcrowding and in all those places the roads were closed to the general public.

Not by the police, but by the revellers themselves.

All that meant was a major operation yesterday, Saturday, where the public areas were closed to the public and the nightclubs too were shut down. Whether it is temporary or not we shall find out but with a public holiday on Wednesday, it could be very interesting to see if the gardens and clubs are open or closed that day.

It does appear if the majority of the people do not really believe in this pandemic.

Back to the official second wave. It is still summer here and pockets of plague, I suppose, could be expected to explode in certain wet, damp areas, like all along the coast. Based on what is happening in the northern hemisphere, we here in southern Africa can expect another wave in March/April next year. Probably called the third wave.

Even the 1918 Spanish Flu had a second wave but it was not as bad as the first wave. Interestingly, in that second wave people wore masks and it was not a law of the land. Here, where it is a law of the land, people do not wear them until they need to go into a shop. And even then several try their best to get in without one.

To pacify the two readers who may or may not have reached this far, let me tell you about the traffic this morning. Here I was in my Lamborghini Golf slowing down to stop at a four way stop when two taxis simply overtook me at the stop sign at full speed. Horrifying stuff. The mind boggles. And that’s just a little bit of the icing on the traffic cake.

Have a good day and a great week.

I thank you.