By Mumtaz Moosa Saley

24:03:2021

This past weekend was the first real long weekend we had, but it has proven to be the weekend that saw a spike in infections.

Driving around Johannesburg many restaurants were packed beyond capacity, not many protocols were being followed and social distancing seemingly ignored. I am not sure what is it about restaurants that get our guard down, almost as if the virus stops at the door after you have sanitised and had your temperature taken.

Many restaurants were called out on social media regarding the behaviour of patrons, but the response was the same. Many said people had a choice to accept that the restaurant had protocols in place, or they could choose to eat elsewhere. I do understand that restaurants have taken a strain, but we have to draw the line somewhere.

A restaurant in the Vaal area has reported that their store had to be shut down for the last month due to every staff member being positive within a short period.

I know we are tired, we want to go back to the way life was, but from now on we can’t blame taxi services when we are to be blamed as well. We are all in this together and that’s what we need to realise. We each have a responsibility toward each other.

Looking at the data released this morning, it’s safe to say that we are heading into the eye of the next storm unless we start taking precautions.

We have all lost so many and so much over the last year, let us change the narrative for this year.