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- As 2020 draws to a close, News24 looks back at the one story that made headlines and left no life untouched.
- In this documentary, we recall the year that changed people’s lives when an invisible virus spread its tentacles across the world.
- News24 reflects on the changes in the workplace, the psychological impact of the virus, the economic consequences and the political ramifications.
Covid-19 changed lives around the world after it was first detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It reached the shores of South Africa when a man returning from a vacation in Italy became our first confirmed case. on March 5, 2020.
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Much has happened since then, leaving South Africa’s economy in tatters and many of its people can barely make ends meet.
In this documentary, News24 takes viewers behind the scenes as journalists gathered to tell the story, often in dangerous situations.
News24’s offices were emptied and a whole new way of working began. Data journalism was used to turn complicated science into easily digestible graphics.
“Rarely in your life can you cover a story like this. I know that there have been comparisons to journalists who covered the world wars, for example, or September 11. It is a story that impacts life on all levels.” News24 editor-in-chief Adriaan Basson said.
He believes that it will have a historic impact on all spheres of life for many years to come.
The perspectives of our editors and journalists are woven into the broader history of the pandemic that has left no life intact, to give you the story behind the story – the impact, personally and professionally, that Covid-19 has had on those who work. on News24. .
As the year draws to a close, it appears that there will be no relief: Covid-19 has not let go of its grip and a second wave of the pandemic has begun in South Africa.
The Eastern and Western Cape are experiencing an increase in cases.
On Monday, December 14, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced new restrictions for the holiday season to try to stem the second wave.
These included extending the curfew from 23:00 to 04:00 in an attempt to prevent super spreader events. It also announced the closure of beaches on the Garden Route and Eastern Cape and on holidays in KwaZulu-Natal.
Social and religious gatherings will also be limited to no more than 100 people for indoor events and no more than 250 people for outdoor events.
In his speech, Ramaphosa said that the average daily infections had risen from around 3,800 per day to just over 6,600.
Deaths in the same period had increased by nearly 50%, from an average of 100 per day to just over 150 deaths per day. More than 24,000 South Africans have succumbed to Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.
When all this is over and a vaccine has been distributed around the world, will life return to normal? News24 investigative journalist Kyle Cowan doesn’t think so.
“Something like this virus that you can’t see with the naked eye can show up and essentially decimate economies and populations around the world. I think it’s given us a lot to think about what life will be like in the next 20 to 30 years. What will the next virus be? “
FUNCTION | Check out News24’s Faces of Lockdown series here
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