India’s deadly second wave of Covid-19 crisis is showing no signs of abating, with the country breaking unwanted records.
In contrast, in some countries that were themselves the subject of grim headlines when their infections were surging, notably the UK and the US, life is showing signs of returning to normal. That is sure evidence, if ever it were needed, of the value of quick vaccinations.
New York City has further eased restrictions on the number of people who can be at businesses such as restaurants, bars and barbershops and at offices, and is set to open fully in July. The UK will allow some foreign travel by its citizens later in May. EU states are also opening up and may relax restrictions on non-essential travel.
For India, the opposite is true. Countries have rushed to restrict, or end, travel to and from the country in response to its latest surge in recorded cases, which has caused it to breach the 20-million mark, the only country to do so other than the US. From May 4, the latter instituted a ban on travellers from India, except for citizens and permanent residents returning home to the US.
Australia went even further, barring its own citizens from returning from India, a controversial move that has raised questions about whether the right to travel home is absolute.
It has been pointed out elsewhere that while the total recorded numbers of infections and deaths in India is horrifying, on a per capita basis the country has recorded fewer cases than the UK and US during their peaks. But there are key differences.
There is widespread suspicion that cases in India are hugely undercounted. When the Covid-19 outbreak was causing havoc in the US and Europe, it was also in the relatively early stages of the pandemic. The risk of new, and possibly more infectious and deadly variants, was not a major concern.
New variants took centre stage late in 2020 with the discovery in quick succession of the 501Y.V2 variant in SA, the B1.1.7 variant in the UK, and P1 in Brazil. All of these variants are highly transmissible and rapidly drove cases to unprecedented levels in the countries in which they were identified. SA swiftly became a pariah nation, with travel from this country now among the most restricted in the world.
Airspace closure
South Africans might therefore sympathise with their Indian counterparts who face an indefinite exclusion from various countries such as the US and Australia, not just because of the surge in infections, but also the emergence of the B.1.617 variant that may be partly to blame for the rapid rise in infections, aided of course by misguided populism from the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As was the case with the emergence of the “UK variant” early in December, the tragic situation in India has caused social media chatter about whether SA should be closing its airspace again.
As it is, flights to and from India are suspended with few exceptions, so it would be pointless for us to institute our own ban now. While borders are open, there is hardly any long-haul activity, meaning it’s unclear what benefit the country would get from a prohibition of air travel that barely exists.
And the travel that is taking place is subject to strict biosecurity and hygiene rules, including the requirement of Covid-19 tests, with no evidence so far that these have been breached. There’s a higher risk from people walking through the land borders, with reports that in some neighbouring countries there is a trade in fraudulent negative Covid-19 tests.
Health minister Zweli Mkhize’s statement on Monday night was in line with the government’s rightly pragmatic approach that emphasises the adherence to health protocols to ensure the country can maintain as much economic activity as possible.
That is a sensible approach. Public confidence will get a timely and needed boost when the government finally gets its vaccination programme up and running.
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