COVID-19 rides roughshod over calculated risks

In the past few weeks, so many of us let our guard down in terms of COVID-19, myself included. I was a bit more relaxed about wearing my mask in company, although I did try to keep a social distance.

I guess we all got to a point when the numbers were down and we felt we could relax a little in spite of what the doctors were telling us. Unfortunately, that laxity has come back to bite us.

The first inkling I had that our – or my – eye was off the ball (or virus) was when I received a message from a respected pulmonologist who had just seen last week’s SA Jewish Report.

She was upset that we ran a photograph on our front page of two of the leading doctors in the fight against COVID-19, unmasked and not keeping a social distance. She questioned the message we were sending, not least because the number of people getting very sick in our community and in broader society was increasing. The photograph didn’t fit the reality.

I know that these doctors on our front page – both Absa Jewish Achiever Award winners – posed for our photographer, who may well have asked them to take off their masks momentarily for the photograph. When I was choosing the best photograph for the front page, COVID-19 was unfortunately not front of mind. It was all about the best photograph.

Hence, I say, my guard was down. Six weeks ago, I wouldn’t have even considered that particular photograph. Mea culpa!

The point is, many of us have fallen into this malaise, and have been pushing the boundaries. And, while so many parents were super strict with their teens while writing matric, ensuring that they were protected from any viruses before and while writing exams, they allowed their children to go to Rage. (See page 1)

I know people have been horribly judgemental and frankly quite nasty toward the parents who allowed their children to go to Rage, calling it irresponsible.

Here’s the thing, I know a number of parents whose children came back from Rage with COVID-19, and they aren’t irresponsible people and would never risk harming their children or others … ever.

They took what they believed was a calculated risk, believing it very unlikely that their children would contract the virus because of safety measures in place. They certainly didn’t believe that if they did, it would hurt them or harm anyone else. These aren’t bad people. In fact, they are good, upstanding, caring, and wonderful people.

All they wanted was to give their children a tiny bit of freedom after being locked away for most of matric. Many of the matriculants booked their tickets for Rage in October last year, long before we had even heard the word COVID-19.

And throughout the year, it was the idea and pull of Rage that kept many of them in their swotting seats. It was the idea of letting their hair down and finally partying after an extraordinarily tough year that attracted them.

And parents wanted that for their children. Who wouldn’t?

And, in spite of what doctors may have said, most people believed the danger cloud of COVID-19 had lifted, at least until next year. Yes, they heard about the rising numbers of people in the Eastern Cape getting COVID-19 and hospitals there filling up fast, but that was there.

As for the doctors, the parents may have believed they were being super cautious.

But they were actually being realistic. The virus didn’t care about Rage and all the matriculants who wanted to party and have some freedom.

No, COVID-19 struck Rage in KwaZulu-Natal with a vengeance and an extraordinarily high percentage of teens left Rage with COVID-19. Apparently, there are as many as 4 500 people who could potentially have contracted the virus because of Rage.

The youngsters got on planes to come home with the virus, potentially infecting others en route to their families.

Now, there are many who are asymptomatic and some who are very sick. There is even one teenage girl in high care in a Netcare hospital.

This illness is like Russian Roulette – you simply don’t know the impact it will have on you. The way people have described how they feel also varies. For some, it feels like a poison in their system, and others battle to breathe. Those are just two of the many possible symptoms of this dreaded virus.

I don’t blame the parents, but I also understand why doctors are furious. They knew what we were up against, and they made it clear. We were wrong because we let our guard down out of sheer exhaustion from everything this year threw at us.

The wake-up call is that this damn virus isn’t going to stay at bay if we don’t protect ourselves all the time. (See page 2)

There are no party breaks. There are no holiday breaks from this virus. We aren’t safe without social distancing, sanitising, and wearing masks. There can be no calculated risks because this particular virus knows no boundaries.

We should still go on holiday because, well frankly, we need it. This has been a tough year for all of us. But if we do go on holiday, we take our COViD-19 protocols and safety measures with us. We have to.

We need to take every precaution – no matter how irritating it is and how bored and tired we are with doing it. I know I’m so sick of wearing a mask and social distancing, but that’s my problem. I need to suck it up – we all do – to protect ourselves from this dreaded virus.

Until the vaccine is available to us all and we can safeguard ourselves another way, we have to maintain the protocols. (See page 3)

Dr Daniel Israel spells out how we can have a holiday and protect ourselves. (See page 7)

As we move into Chanukah this week, this is our official end of year and Chanukah edition. Please take the time to read the insightful and thought-provoking pieces on Chanukah that were written for you. (See pages 11 to 18)

May you have a blessed, healthy and miraculous Chanukah! We also wish everyone a safe and COVID-19-free holiday.

We won’t be publishing the SA Jewish Report over the holiday season. This is our last newspaper for 2020. Our next edition will be out on 15 January.