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