GOOD POLICY ON COVID-19: ALL LIVES ARE EQUALLY PRECIOUS
Only re-open schools and allow religious gatherings when we are ready
Statement by Mark Rountree, National Policy Officer for GOOD
28 May 2020
GOOD has released a policy document on the Covid19 pandemic to its members. The document, adopted by its National Leadership Committee this week, outlines the science and data behind the positions that GOOD is supporting to address the global disaster.
“The thousands of deaths per day witnessed in the USA, UK, Italy and now Brazil are sobering examples of the consequences of countries not managing the pandemic with due care for their citizens. We are fundamentally opposed to the notion of ‘herd immunity’. Our starting point is that all lives are equally precious, and that it is incumbent on all South Africans to contribute to minimising infections,” said National Policy Officer for GOOD, Mark Rountree.
Data changes by the day, each country has its own set of environmental factors, and science on this new disease is only beginning to emerge. Given this uncertainty, the GOOD policy document argues for a precautionary approach because hundreds of thousands of lives that are at stake.
GOOD’s policy is premised on the science that lives can be saved by actions such as: (1.) Reducing the spread of the disease through social distancing and avoiding the 3 Cs, Crowds, Closed spaces and Close contact; (2.) Listening to the science, not Sky News, about the risks of reopening schools; and (3.) Reducing the incidence of smoking.
With regard to reopening schools, South Africa must align the best available science to practical circumstances (social and economic) on the ground. Unsubstantiated actions could come at a very heavy cost.
Given the present rate of transmission of the virus in some parts of the country, citizens must be reassured that steps to reopen schools – and allow gatherings, including religious gatherings – are supported by science.
Schools should only reopen in areas where the risk of fuelling additions infections is small, when the education departments are confident that frontline workers are properly protected, and when caregivers are aware of the additional risks they will incur and how to mitigate against them.
GOOD notes the World Health Organisation’s technical lead Maria van Kerkhove’s warning that “there’s no reason to think that children are less susceptible to infection if they’re exposed, and that they can’t transmit”.
GOOD does not support the ‘herd immunity’ though mass infection theory advocated by some political parties and their advisors. The science is unclear on how many infections will be necessary to achieve herd immunity, and whether those who have been infected will acquire immunity. According to some models, for South Africa to reach herd immunity would cost us 700 000 precious lives.
With regard to smoking, medical experts report that smokers are at least twice, possibly more than ten times, at risk of developing serious complications from Covid19. The loss of taxers – an estimated R35 million per day – is regrettable, but those costs may be offset by the reported R90 million per day that smoking costs the South African economy.
In addressing the rising cases and deaths, GOOD’s analysis of recently released data by the National Department of Health highlighted that insufficient contact tracing is happening. This is particularly apparent in the Western Cape, where less than one contact is being traced per Covid19 patient. The Western Cape has the lowest contact tracing per Covid19 infections of any province and reports the highest rate of infections and deaths.
The full report is available for download at: www.forgood.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GOOD_Policy-Document-on-Covid19_final_27-May-2020.pdf