COVID-19 TOOK THE LIVES OF THE LOVED ONES

 

COVID-19 TOOK THE LIVES OF LOVED ONES

By: Onthatile Mahlangu

Twitter: @OnthatiM

Email: Onthatilemahlangu888@gmail.com

A month after the Covid -19 Pandemic was announced South Africa became a devastated country as many households lost their family members and were not given enough time to grieve for their loved ones. It was a difficult time because extended relatives were not allowed to attend the funeral due to the lockdown.

South Africa experienced deaths in the first and second waves of the Covid-19 pandemic within the 2021 mid-year population period between July 2020 and June 2021.

According to the South African government website, this increased the death rate from 8,7 deaths per 1000 people in 2020 to 11,6 deaths per 1000 people in 202t1. This meant a drop in the 2021 life expectancy at the birth of South Africa.      

Regardless of the vaccinations according to the world health organisation, there were 633 million deaths worldwide due to the virus. In South Africa, there were 102 thousand deaths. Coronavirus has left many family members devasted due to the loss of their loved ones.

Due to deaths, people’s lives changed some had to take responsibility and become breadwinners. Others had to drop out of varsity and take care of their family members. People experienced multiple losses during the pandemic which led them to depression.

Wendy Poopedi a 22-year-old who studies at Tshwane University of Technology said that Covid took both her grandparents, “I started losing my grandmother Nkele Poopedi she was 92 years old and already had a chronic illness she got covid 19 and we lost her in a space of two weeks.”

She further mentioned that she also lost her grandfather and that her family is still not coping because they lost their pillars.

“I lost a valuable member in my family while I was in matric a person who I loved and respected the most,” said Lethabo Moeketsi 19-year-old who is a first-year student at TUT.

His grandmother Rebecca Makatla was in her late 70s she decided to vaccinate with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in June 2021 to protect herself against the virus. Three days after she was vaccinated, she started getting sick they took her to the doctor she got better but a day after she passed on.

“It was a painful time for our family because she was our caretaker and a breadwinner, and it was shocking because she was healthy and active, we did not take it well after losing her. I was emotionally and mentally affected,” Lethabo added.

 Lerato Mpisane a 22-year-old studying at the University of Cape Town said that covid-19 took her aunt Fezile Mpisane who was 39 years old on 26 June 2021.

“Due to Covid -19 regulations we could not attend the funeral and it was upsetting to my family and the community members because my aunt was a provider to all,” said Lerato Mpisane.

The pandemic left loss and trauma in the lives of people as they lost their family members who played important roles in their lives.

https://soundcloud.com/user-676563875/covid-effects?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing