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3RD WAVE: PUBLIC WANTS BORDERS CLOSED

16/03/2021 08:15:00 BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA

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MBABANE - “Close borders now!”

Following growing reports of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic spreading across Europe and already being in some parts of Africa, locals have expressed their concern, suggesting that border gates should be closed while the country is still recording low infections. The third wave was predicted in January. Predictions suggested that the wave would start in April, however, countries, including Kenya, have already declared themselves to be within the third wave after a spike in daily infections from last week. Some concerned locals came out to state that government should become proactive by closing border gates to limit travelling, which would decrease the chances of the country being hit hard by the coming wave. “The time to act is now. It is time border gates only open for truck drivers, people who need medical attention and students. Otherwise, if we do not act now, we will relive the second wave havoc but this can be avoided now,” they said.

Scientists

According to international reports and scientists, the third wave is expected to be more intense and this is attributed to the new COVID-19 variants, which are more infectious. However, proof has not yet been displayed if the new variants are deadlier.
The second wave wreaked havoc in the country, especially in December 2020 and January 2021, which was the peak period of the wave. During the second wave, the country lost Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, Minister of Public Service Christian Ntshangase, Minister of Labour and Social Security Makhosi Vilakati, Eswatini Conference of Churches President Bishop Stephen Masilela and other prominent figures. During an interview, one Nozipho Ndlangamandla of Mhlaleni said saving lives was more important than opening the border gates, allowing people to travel like there was no virus which was ready to attack.

Overwhelmed

“As a country, we cannot turn a blind eye to what happened in December last year and in January this year. People were dying like flies and the healthcare system was overwhelmed. It was my first time to hear that mortuaries were full and cannot take in any more bodies. “What we experienced early this year can be curbed by closing borders as soon as we can, while we still have low cases,” said Ndlangamandla. She said she was aware that the closure of border gates somehow impacted negatively on the economy. “The economy can recover, but a person cannot be resuscitated from their grave,” she said. Another concerned citizen, Sindi Dlamini from Hlatikhulu, said travelling was the main catalyst for the spread of the virus.
“The closure of borders will assist limit the unnecessary travelling. COVID-19 demands people to stay put and leave the house when it is very necessary. The second wave showed us that COVID-19 is fighting the existence of humanity and if border gates must be closed to save lives, so be it,’ said Dlamini. Others, however, said the closure of border gates was not necessary yet. One Nkhosingiphile Lubisi of Mbabane said some people’s livelihood was destroyed by the closure of border gates. “The opening and shutting of borders has already done a lot of damage with regard to people’s income. Some businesses have already closed because of this.

Goods

“Many emaSwati make a living through buying goods from South Africa or Mozambique and selling them in the kingdom and they are able to feed their families. Closing border gates is not an option, at least not for now,” said Lubisi. When sought for comment, Director of Health Services Dr Vusi Magagula said there was a need to find a balance between fighting the pandemic and the survival of the economy. “Abruptly shutting down the economy and border gates would be tricky because there has to be thorough planning to find a balance,” said Dr Magagula. When sought for comment, Business Eswatini Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nathi Dlamini said businesses did not need another lockdown, hence it was fundamental for people to contain the spread of the virus. “We had caught wind quite early that this virus would mutate into something else but we had hoped that by the time this happened, we would have achieved herd immunity in the country as we would have vaccinated a larger proportion of the people. Evidently, through no one’s fault, it seems things have not gone according to plan as we are yet to start administering a vaccine in coming days or weeks. A third wave is very possible and we suspect its severity will be dependent on how responsible emaSwati will behave when government relaxes the protocols. It all depends on us at the end of the day. Relaxation of protocols should not permit us to act recklessly and irresponsibly. I hope and pray that this time around we will demonstrate that we are now alive to the deleterious consequences of this virus even to our school-going children whose academic endeavours have been compromised forever as a result of this deadly virus,” said Dlamini.