Why South Africa is coming out of lockdown – BBC Newsnight

Despite appearing to mirror the UK’s coronavirus trajectory, South Africa appears to have the spread under control and is easing its lockdown. Subscribe to our channel here: https://goo.gl/31Q53F

In the early stages of the pandemic, Britain and South Africa followed a near identical path of infections.

But as things stand only just over 100 South Africans are reported to have died from the virus, compared to the British total of over 26,000.

The UK is still considering its next steps, but South Africa is now moving to partly ease its lockdown.

What made things so different? South African authorities say that its rapid, heavily enforced lockdown has helped.

But how much was it also the result of a severely unequal society – where rich and poor do not have much contact?

In Johannesburg, the BBC’s Africa correspondent Andrew Harding has been finding out.

#Coronavirus #Covid19 #Johannesburg

Newsnight is the BBC’s flagship news and current affairs TV programme – with analysis, debate, exclusives, and robust interviews.

Website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsnight
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BBCNewsnight
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bbcnewsnight


In This Story: Lockdown

During the 2020 Covid-19 epidemic, lockdown has come to mean the practice of attempting to control transmission of the virus by means of restricting people’s movement and activities on a broad scale, usually on a national or state-wide basis.

3 Recent Items: Lockdown

Man in hospital after being tasered by police | 9 news australia 1

Man in hospital after being tasered by police | 9 News Australia

Do You Remember THIS?! | Wuhan Lab Leak, Vaccines & Lockdowns – #275 PREVIEW

Sky News at Ten: Baroness Mone admits she stands to benefit from PPE contract

In This Story: South Africa

South Africa is a country on the southernmost tip of the African continent, marked by several distinct ecosystems. Inland safari destination Kruger National Park is populated by big game. The Western Cape offers beaches, lush winelands around Stellenbosch and Paarl, craggy cliffs at the Cape of Good Hope, forest and lagoons along the Garden Route, and the city of Cape Town, beneath flat-topped Table Mountain.

2 Recent Items: South Africa

Can international justice stop Israel? | Inside Story

MPs call for Canada to reject genocide claim against Israel | Power & Politics

Leave a Comment

We don't require your email address, or your name, for anyone to leave a comment. If you do add an email address, you may be notified if there are replies to your comment - we won't use it for any other purpose. Please make respectful comments, which add value, and avoid personal attacks on others. Links are not allowed in comments - 99% of spam comments, attempt to post links. Please describe where people may find additional information - for example "visit the UN website" or "search Google for..." rather than posting a link. Comments failing to adhere to these guidelines will not be published.