Covid-19’s Impact on South Africa

South Africa is now being pummeled by the highly contagious Delta variant in a third wave of Covid-19 and massive lockdowns.  Less than 3% of the population have received two vaccines and one in three hundred people have died.  According to a study of donated blood in May, 47% of South Africans have already had Covid-19.   Black donors were more than three times as likely to have antibodies in their blood than white donors.  

Individuals and the economy have been devastated.  At the end of March, 47% of workers were without a job.  South Africa has been rated by some indicators as the most inequitable country in the world.   Black South Africans comprise 80% of the population, two-thirds of whom were already living in poverty before Covid-19.  Months of lockdowns have wiped out countless service industry, construction, tourist-based, retail and myriad low-paying jobs. 

A recent survey found that some 13 million South Africans, including three million children, can no longer afford food.  This crisis fueled the rioting and looting following the imprisonment of former president, Jacob Zuma.  Zuma’s supporters targeted critical infrastructure and blocked a key highway for five days.  Panic buying, looting and stealing ensued.  However, people from South Africa’s many diverse cultures pulled together to stem the destruction and clean up the streets. 

 When the South African and U.S. coordinators of ASAP spoke on July 22, Marlese told Nancy, “It’s not just numbers anymore.  It’s names.  No one can ignore it now.”

Based on a Wall Street Journal article entitled “Third Covid Wave Upends a Fragile South Africa”, by Gabriele Steinhauser and Joe Parkinson.