One year on: #Covid-19 by the numbers
Friday, 5 March, marked the first anniversary of the first Covid-19 case identified in South Africa. How the world has changed since then.
5 Mar 2021
Image: Twitter
It’s been a roller coaster ride, ever since.
In less than a month after the first diagnosis, we were heading for hard lockdown..
Ramaphosa announces nationwide lockdown
24 Mar 2020
One year on
- >1,5-million cases
- >9,000,000 tests
- 50,000 recorded Covid-deaths
- 150,000 excess deaths
- >1.4-million recoveries
- Two waves
- Discovery of the so-called South African variant - 501Y.V2
- 92,029 vaccines administered to frontline workers
- Two-million jobs were lost
Despite the turmoil, suffering and disruption in 2020, South Africans showed their resilience when faced with hard times. And with the subsidence of the second wave and the Sisonke vaccine programme starting to gather momentum, there are glimmers of hope for the future.
About Nicci Botha
Nicci Botha has been wordsmithing for more than 20 years, covering just about every subject under the sun and then some. She's strung together words on sustainable development, maritime matters, mining, marketing, medical, lifestyle... and that elixir of life - chocolate. Nicci has worked for local and international media houses including Primedia, Caxton, Lloyd's and Reuters. Her new passion is digital media.
