Covid-19 lessons for SA: Life after lockdown – QR codes maintain govt control

The story of the 1918 Spanish flu, which killed anywhere between 20m and 50m people, came in waves, with the second wave more deadly than the first, as the History channel reminds us. New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is keenly aware that the Covid-19 nightmare may not be over, even though the virus appears to have been eliminated in her country. She has warned that the virus will be with us for some time, a point echoed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to South Africans. Like Ardern, Ramaphosa went in hard and early by shutting down the country to stop the spread of the deadly Covid-19 disease. Ardern's new weapons against Covid-19 are to keep the borders tightly restricted and to implement QR codes to register people who congregate in groups – with the latter aimed at quickly tracing the spread of the virus. The New York Times picks up on how New Zealand is planning to keep Covid-19 from re-entering the mainstream. – Jackie CameronBy Thulasizwe SitholeCrowds will gather again in New Zealand's restaurants. Weddings will include as many hugs and guests as the happy couple wants — and even social distancing will not be needed. But life will not be as it was, with registration through QR code for anyone who joins a group for the foreseeable future. ___STEADY_PAYWALL___.This is the picture painted by The New York Times of a country that has emerged from strict Covid-19 containment measures.New Zealand has no active coronavirus cases and no new cases, officials said on Monday, declaring that life could return to a form of pre-pandemic normal, says the news organisation.Since the pandemic began, the country has reported 1,504 cases and 22 deaths nationally, and has been widely praised for its stringent approach to combating the virus. That's a relatively low case and death rate, when you consider that New Zealand has a similar population – of about 5m – to Scotland. The latter has recorded about 16,000 positive cases and about 2,500 deaths from Covid-19.As The New York Times underscores, the island nature of New Zealand has helped it stop new cases of Covid-19 from entering the country.South Africa's tough stance appears to have also helped it limit deaths by global standards. As of 9 June, South Africa had reported 50 879 people had tested positive for Covid-19, of which 1,080 had died.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has warned that Covid-19 may have been eliminated in New Zealand but there is still a risk of another break out.Ardern, who led an approach she described as "go hard, go early" — with a severe lockdown that began in late March — said the country could now focus on economic recovery and bolstering local businesses."Retail is back without limitation," she is reported as saying. "Hospitality is back without limitation; public transport and travel across the country is fully open."The return to freedom of movement, however, is not quite complete, says The New York Times. With the pandemic continuing to rage elsewhere, the country's borders are still closed. Plans for a "travel bubble" with Australia are in the works, but moving slowly.Ardern also reportedly announced that QR codes would be appearing wherever people gather. She asked businesses to remind people to scan the codes into the government's contact tracing app to make any future outbreak easier to track and isolate, saying: "This is a key new habit we're asking all New Zealanders to adopt."Ardern has been praised internationally for her approach to New Zealand's outbreak, which was among the most stringent in the world. This is in stark contrast to the strong criticism of Ramaphosa and his team as South Africa added strange rules into the mix of lockdown regulations, including bans on smoking, alcohol and the purchase of specific types of clothing.Ardern's live video updates on Facebook, streamed from her own home, offered a relatable understanding of the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on the lives of New Zealanders, but a firm resolve to eradicate the disease from the country, says The New York Times. While Ramaphosa has given regular updates on Covid-19, he has failed to explain convincingly why a tobacco sales ban has remained in place although it is costing huge sums in lost taxes and facilitated the explosion of the illegal trade in cigarettes.The New Zealand prime minister has urged vigilance as the country moves ahead."The virus will be in our world for some time to come," she reportedly said on Monday. "We are confident we have eliminated transmission of the virus for now, but elimination is not a point in time; it is a sustained effort."

Covid-19 lessons for SA: Life after lockdown – QR codes maintain govt control

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