Durban - This sucks. And it keeps getting suckier.
The mood in isolation has gone from Sunshine Sally to Gloomy Gloria, Thunderstorm Thora, Fearful Fiona and Anxious Angela. It’s way more than normal depression or menopausal mood swings: this is full on Covid Catastrophe.
Infection rates and the number of deaths are surging. South Africa has managed a relatively good recovery rate, but there’s a very large information hole for citizens.
There is so much we don’t know.
This is a natural disaster of epic proportions. It’s also invisible.
Because it is a new virus, information about it changes almost daily. It used to be a threat to “old people”. It used to be spread by particles. It used to be a respiratory disease. It used to be about getting “herd immunity”. “Recovered” meant all was hunky dory, you beat the beast, finish and klaar.
Now, it appears, none of the above is accurate.
The official website (https://sacoronavirus.co.za/), only updates the total number of tests, cases, recoveries and deaths from the virus, and a wide provincial breakdown. There are pages of FAQs, but no “live” details on how, where and among whom these surges are happening.
Disclaimer: from here, all opinions are decidedly unscientific, and our scientists and doctors may know it all. They just seem not to be sharing it with us, the foot soldiers in this fight.
Because of the up to two-week lag between infection and symptoms, we don’t know what’s coming.
We don’t know if more mobile younger people are spreading the virus unknowingly, and we don’t know anything about who has had it and had an “outcome”.
Are more younger people, and people without the associated comorbidities, dying? Are we seeing multiple-organ failure indicating Covid-19 is more than just a respiratory disease?
And in our sprawling provinces, where are the hot spots?
Are those who have recovered now suffering from long-term effects reported elsewhere: multiple-organ neurological damage and fatigue?
Do autopsies show people have had massive blood clotting that affected the brain, heart, kidneys and other parts of the body?
Can we have information about whether the virus is airborne, meaning it is carried in even smaller, lighter, droplets allowing it to hover in the air for longer?
Then the biggy: some researchers question the length and strength of immunity. These findings have not been confirmed across the relevant medical community, but it calls into question the viability of a potential vaccine.
Potential stigmatisation is given as a reason for the information blackout, and maintaining patient privacy is required by law. But for people to make informed decisions to protect themselves, their families and anyone else they come into contact with, we should be given as much information as is available.
Unvarnished truth and facts are what we need now. No one should be able to claim they did not know the viciousness of this virus, and how even those who get seriously ill and recover suffer during and after their bout with it.
If this information was widely available, people may be informed enough to take the necessary precautions to prevent the spread.
It will still suck, but with the facts we can more fully understand and cope with the fears.
- Slogrove is the news editor