As the country and world commemorated Mandela Day, parliament reminded the nation of the famous quote by the late struggle icon and former president that “a fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of”.
“After 114 days of different levels of a phased lockdown, whose aim was to flatten the infection curve, we now have to deal with the exponential increase in infections in some provinces. This period, which had a devastating effect on the economy and the livelihoods of many in our country, requires that we stand socially distanced from each other but side-by-side while we continue to stop the spread of infection.
“As we celebrate and honour the legacy of the founding father of our democracy, Tata Nelson Mandela, we remember his words when he said: 'May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.' The choices we make individually, and collectively, should reflect our hope that we will win this fight against this virus.
With people's collective efforts, much had been achieved and SA was at “a comparatively much better situation than many countries”, it said. “However, we must still observe social distancing, wash our hands regularly and wear protective equipment like masks and face shields.