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COVID–19 PANDEMIC TWO YEARS ON, SOUTH AFRICA CONTINUES THE FIGHT MARCH 27 2020 – MARCH 27 2022
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EDITORIAL THE national lockdown, which was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa two years ago, was a decisive moment for African News Agency (ANA) photographers. Permitted by special decree to move about as essential services, our brave shooters ventured out into the unfamiliar territory of a deadly global virus, risking their lives and that of their families to keep our readers and viewers informed. Many of our photographers eventually contracted Covid-19 and pulled through. Sadly, Zanele Zulu, based in KwaZulu-Natal, succumbed to the virus in September 2021. Cape Town photographer Brendan Magaar lost his wife Althea to Covid-19, in January 2021. Candidly capturing the historic moments, of what was described as the “new normal” under Covid-19,
our lensmen (and women) reflected the good, the bad and the ugly of South African life under hard lockdown regulations. With great passion, dedication and humanity, they documented the pandemic’s impact across a wide scope that focused on families, sport, the workplace, the economy, business, nature, urban environments, education, and religious and cultural events, among others. They also looked at lawmakers, the government and the most vulnerable in our communities – the poor and homeless. Two years on, there is a glimmer of hope, thanks to vaccines and herd immunity. The ANA team’s hardhitting images over the past two years are a poignant visual reminder of how resilient South Africans survived, and came through the unprecedented global pandemic. We hope you enjoy looking back at some of the images we captured.
Ian Landsberg
Photographer
As panic buying continued, the SAPS and the SANDF set up a roadblock on the N14 to ensure that motorists adhered to the lockdown regulations. | JACQUES NAUDE African News Agency (ANA) iol.co.za
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Lockdown fears spark panic buying
Thousands of people queued outside retail stores to stock up on groceries after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the national lockdown. | PHANDO JIKELO African News Agency (ANA)
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Beaches, streets and other public places across the country were deserted during the strict curfew. | LEON LESTRADE | DOCTOR NGCOBO | SHELLEY KJONSTAD African News Agency (ANA)
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With the number of Covid-19 deaths climbing, South Africa went into a hard lockdown, plunging citizens into financial and emotional distress. Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal accounted for most of the Covid-19 cases. | LEON LESTRADE African News Agency (ANA)
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On the frontline Many health-care workers risked their lives to fight Covid-19 as authorities struggled to obtain and distribute vaccines to front-line medical staff. The government began an extensive testing campaign roll-out across the country. | MOTSHWARI MOFOKENG African News Agency (ANA)
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District health systems played a vital role in testing, although cases climbed steadily, South Africa was among the most-efficient countries, testing for and recording Covid-19 cases daily. | LEON LESTRADE | OUPA MOKOENA | DOCTOR NGCOBO African News Agency (ANA)
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Nurses Katherine Naidu, Jill Berry and Nomfundo Gasa were among the health-care professionals who went beyond their call of duty during the pandemic. Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize awarded them for their efforts. | ZANELE ZULU African News Agency (ANA)
Funeral parlours battled to cope with the high number of burials. The pandemic put immense pressure on the death–care industry as the number of Covid-19-related deaths rose. | LEON LESTRADE African News Agency (ANA)
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Keeping the faith A portrait of Catholic clergymen Father Anthony Padua C.Ss.R, at Holy Redeemer Church in Bergvliet, Cape Town, epitomised the spirit of South Africans. Although regulations kept people from their places of faith and worship, locals kept the faith by holding online gatherings during religious festivals. | TRACEY ADAMS African News Agency (ANA)
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The husband of Anncha Kepkey, of Parow, who, one week after she died from Covid-19, was buried at Durbanville Memorial Park. Anncha Kepkey was an operations manager at Tygerberg’s trauma unit. She died at Bellville’s Melomed Hospital in Cape Town. | ARMAND HOUGH African News Agency (ANA)
Covid-19 restrictions meant that many people were prevented from visiting cemeteries and were unable to lay their loved ones to rest. | LEON LESTRADE African News Agency (ANA)
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The devastating burden The directives on how to bury Covid-19 victims affected many grieving families. Some 1.5 million new gravesites were dug as the number of cases began to spike. | LEON LESTRADE African News Agency (ANA)
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A nurse in full PPE in the isolation ward of the Kensington Home for the Aged, in Cape Town. | IAN LANDSBERG African News Agency (ANA)
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Personal Protective Equipment Nurses wear protective gear in the quarantine wards of the Tygerberg Hospital where coronavirus patients were being treated. | IAN LANDSBERG | PHANDO JIKELO | LEON LESTRADE | AYANDA NDAMANE African News Agency (ANA)
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Heartbreaking scenes as Covid-19 cases peak Some of the new graves in the Covid-19 section of the Maitland cemetery. | IAN LANDSBERG African News Agency (ANA)
15 A funeral held in Mowbray, Cape Town (below). Regulations stipulated that bodies who died of Covid-19 had to be buried in plastic. The sites were only allowed to hold 50 people. | IAN LANDSBERG African News Agency (ANA)
Transnet-Phelophepa’s mobile health-care clinic in Phoenix, north of Durban (below). | MOTSHWARI MOFOKENG African News Agency (ANA)
In protective clothing, a photojournalist visits Kliprand, a rural town with 205 residents. The town had been put under quarantine due to positive Covid-19 cases in almost every home. | HENK KRUGER African News Agency (ANA)
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Thembokuhle Shezi working at Ekuthuleni Primary School before schools reopened after having moved teaching and learning online. | MOTSHWARI MOFOKENG African News Agency (ANA)
Members of the Covid-19 Disinfect Now, in partnership with the Khayelitsha Development Forum, disinfecting Yomelela Primary School in Cape Town. | AYANDA NDAMANE African News Agency (ANA)
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Despite major clean-ups at schools, a handful of concerned parents and learners picketed outside St Joseph’s in Eesterust, Pretoria. They were calling for a total shutdown of the school. | THOBILE MATHONSI African News Agency (ANA)
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In good spirits Nockey Mkhize, Xolani Hlongwane and Allison Naidoo, all of the Sunflower Foundation, show off their protective wear. | SHELLEY KJONSTAD African News Agency (ANA)
Under lockdown, the wearing of masks in public spaces was made mandatory. | TIMOTHY BERNARD | BHEKIKHAYA Mabaso African News Agency (ANA)
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A boy assists his grandmother with her mask during Covid-19 community screening and testing at Fisantekraal in the Western Cape. | BRENDAN MAGAAR African News Agency (ANA)
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Operation SA, Covid-19 Action group Laudium Disaster Management and their partners distribute soap and information leaflets in Itireleng informal settlement in Laudium, Gauteng. | JACQUES NAUDE African News Agency (ANA)
Liesel Barnard, from Muddy Pooches, handing out pet food. The organisation is a community outreach programme in Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape. Its main focus is to teach youngsters in the informal settlements of Bossiesgif, Qolweni and Pine Trees how to take care of their pets. | DAVID RITCHIE African News Agency (ANA)
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Children from Happy Valley Daycare in Strandfontein practise good hand-sanitising habits and wear masks made from wet wipes. | TRACEY ADAMS African News Agency (ANA)
The AJ Foundation feeding station in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, put together a weekly feeding scheme for the community. | TRACEY ADAMS African News Agency (ANA)
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A ‘new normal’ for learners On January 31, 2022, adjusted alert level 1 came into effect. Isolation was not required for those who tested positive and had no symptoms. Primary, secondary and special schools returned to daily attendance. The physical distancing requirement of 1m was removed. | African News Agency (ANA)
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Grade R learners are screened at Constantia Primary School as learners returned to school after lockdown was eased, to level 2. | BRENDAN MAGAAR African News Agency (ANA)
After almost three months, most Grade 7 learners at Ekuthuleni Primary School in Kwamashu, finally returned to class, along with learners from other school. Despite a desperate last-minute scramble by the Department of Basic Education, some schools remained closed because many of them lacked water and proper sanitation. | MOTSHWARI MOFOKENG African News Agency (ANA)
Learners wearing masks at school. | ZANELE ZULU | THOBILE MATHONSI African News Agency (ANA)
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Hairdresser Delso Phacule, from Soweto, and Patricia Mdingi, from Durban (below), were among the millions of small business owners hard hit by the pandemic. | NOKUTHULA MBATHA | SHELLEY KJONSTAD African News Agency (ANA)
CONTACT US PUBLISHER Vasantha Angamuthu vasantha@africannewsagency.com PRODUCTION Renata Ford renata.ford@inl.co.za
The fight continues Restrictions imposed over the past 2 years brought most economic activity to a standstill and plunged millions of South Africans into unemployment. | LEON LESTRADE African News Agency (ANA)
DESIGN Mallory Munien mallory.munien@inl.co.za BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Keshni Odayan keshni.odayan@inl.co.za SALES Charl Reineke charl.reineke@inl.co.za INQUIRE hello@africannewsagency.com
