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Futile Alan Winde trying to push back the Covid tide

Last month I wrote Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and the DA (leader John Steenhhuisen et al) continue to push back against the even benign level 1 lockdown. This was as Europe, UK and Australia experienced a resurgence of Covid-19 and US numbers continued worsening. But Winde and DA wanted travel restrictions between South African and countries lifted.

Winde and the DA oppose lockdowns, even when Covid infections were at their worst mid-year and despite lockdowns being the only way community infections can be slowed. Now Covid is increasing again, as one expected.

This week Winde is warning WC residents of a 50% increase in cases, particularly along the Garden Route. This is not surprising as the Eastern Cape is a hotzone. Covid appears to be making its way from the EC to Cape Town. Infection numbers, Winde says, are like May's. 

He says another lockdown will "kill all jobs" (sic), but like his DA colleagues doesn't suggest ways to slow it. With inter-provincial movement allowed and to all intents there are non-existent restrictions, what does one expect.

Sweden didn't impose a lockdown (their constitution doesn't permit it except wartime) but asked people to adhere to measures. But in a country where citizens are generally law abiding and and have faith in government, it had higher infections than its neighbours and recently experienced a surge.

It's impossible to be completely isolated in the modern, especially urban world. So asking people to take responsibility for measures to protect themselves can only go so far. And gas-lighting them when self-measures predictably fail - excluding idiots who have Covid parties and breathe on others - as government has done is really pointless.

In national emergencies government must take the lead. In wartime one doesn't ask citizens to individually take measures as they like when they like without a national plan which is very similar to a lockdown but called curfew, restrictions, etc.

Now futile Winde, who personally and his party has been against lockdowns from the start, is in effect appealing for us citizens to fight Covid by ourselves, as the government did during the worst this year.

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