Tuesday 21st April 2020.

On the 16th of April, I gave some idea of how the Covid-19 pandemic had affected the people and economy of SA.  Today I want to focus more on how crisis has affected me, my family and friends, in SA and abroad. But first the stats.
As at 20th April, SA had recorded  3465 confirmed cases and 58 deaths from Covid-19. So only a 1.67% death rate which is said to be good. 126937 tests have been conducted so far and the government hopes to ramp up this rate of testing considerably. We hear the defence force is being roped in to help in this regard. 76000 of them will reportedly be on standby to be employed in one way or the other.
Food supplies are still plentiful and the country appears to be calm and peaceful. This might not be so though. I have noticed that there is very little to no reporting on civil unrest in the country. We see on social media that shops are being looted for food, alcohol outlets are being targeted because of the ban on alcohol and cigarette sales. Over 400 schools have been vandalised and looted. We hear that the natives are getting restless, but there is absolutely no coverage of this by the formal press. It is not widely known yet, but we seem to have sunk into a total police state where we hear only the news that the government wants us to hear.
So that is the country at present.
How this whole Covid-19 thing has affected me personally is a totally different story.
Initially, it did not make much difference to my life. I, being a cripple, did not get out much at the best of times. My routine was to go to the mall roughly once a fortnight to do a bit of shopping and have a nice lunch at a restaurant with friends. Also once a fortnight, on Tuesdays, two of my friends and their wives would come around to my place for a nice braai or meal, some chat and maybe a game of cards or whatever. This meant that roughly once a week I would get to see my friends and interact with them. Others may well pop in from time to time, or we see them. I have now not been into town since the 27th of March. I can, of course, go outside and sit in the garden, I must keep my vitamin D levels up. But I miss the social interaction. Speaking on the phone is just not the same.
Audrey's grandchildren also used to come over quite frequently, for weekends and school holidays. No more. We did see three of them last week because their father could not take them shopping with him, so he left them here for the morning. That was a welcome relief, all be it a risky one.
Reading up on this virus I can only conclude that should I get it I will die for sure. I only have 40% lung capacity at present and the muscles that work my diaphragm and chest muscles are too weak to do the job effectively. My cough reflex is too weak to clear my lungs effectively so any build-up of mucus will quickly drown me. What this means is that I am effectively in lockdown until an effective vaccine is found and employed. That can be late next year. I'm not sure I want to stay locked up that long, but is my life worth a plate of fish and chips at John Dory's?  As cabin fever sets in I'm already getting the feeling that it may well be worth the risk. Don't be silly I tell myself, but I do so want to go out to meet my friends, do some shopping, even get my flu jab at Dischem, which can also save my life in its own way.
I'm not suffering from Cabin Fever yet, not according to the dictionary definition of the condition, but when my whisky runs out in a few days time, I may well start to show symptoms. My neighbour is buying brandy at R400 a bottle, I hear. I will not stoop to that level. The black market will always flourish in times of need. Prohibition never worked in the USA and it sure is not going to work here.
That's enough about me. I hope to write about my book next time.