Premium: SA reaction to Omicron suggests we’re learning to live with Covid-19

My inbox this morning contained some upbeat reactions to last night's address to the nation by SA president Cyril Ramaphosa. This was one "family meeting" that went well. CR has kept a cool head on the new Covid variant – including growing calls to introduce mandatory vaccines in SA..FEDHASA's national chair said the tourism body is "absolutely thrilled". SATSA called it "the most powerful speech our president has delivered on Covid." Even the liquor industry's verdict was "broadly welcomes…".It's common cause that South African scientists identified the new Covid strain and now their global peers know what to look for, Omicron is being found all over the world. The knee-jerk reaction to immediately isolate SA reflects poorly on the Western political establishment..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.By contrast, last night Ramaphosa reflected maturity desperately lacking elsewhere. Pretoria appears to have reflected on the past two years and concluded Covid-19 is going nowhere, so best we learn to live with it. Nice one Cyril..More on the subject to read today:.* New York Declares State of Emergency to Combat Omicron Variant. Precautionary measure allows hospitals to turn away patients seeking nonurgent care..* Companies See Omicron Variant as Latest Unknown in a Pandemic Full of Shocks. Executives schedule calls and send questions to health advisers while considering how safety measures could be restored, if needed..And something completely different….* Why You Shouldn't Use Emojis in Work Messages. Women are especially likely to interpret certain emojis more negatively than men do, according to a recent study.NB – I'm hosting the monthly update webinar on the BizNews portfolio at noon tomorrow – as usual on the last Tuesday of the month. It's a Premium-only event. Click here to register. .NB FOR YOUR WALL STREET JOURNAL ACCESS….As a Premium subscriber you are entitled to full membership of wsj.com (normal price $29 a month). Be sure to action your access through the Premium link on the BizNews website. Because of The Wall Street Journal's credential requirements, be sure to create a password which has at least 8 characters and includes at least one letter and one number – NB it MAY NOT contain any special characters (ie #, !, @ etc). To maintain access to WSJ.com, you MUST enter our partner's website via BizNews Premium at least once a month. A final PS, if you had previously signed up for WSJ you'll need to clear the cookies from your device. Our help desk can assist – support@biznews.com.If you'd like to help sustain our independent voice, why not share the love by making a gift that keeps giving? Click here to access the BizNews Premium subscription signup form, and be sure tick the relevant box (see below). At R100 a month and inclusive of full membership of The Wall Street Journal, it's a mind-expanding gift at an incredibly modest price.

Premium: SA reaction to Omicron suggests we’re learning to live with Covid-19

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