Over the course of the next two to three months, the first wave of the Covid-19 epidemic is expected to reach its peak across the country. The death count will rise dramatically, and our encounters with it will become more personal. The measured political narrative that dominated the build-up will make way for a more real as well as acute human crisis.

Is South Africa ready? Was enough done during the time of the hard lockdown? Why are South Africa’s case numbers rising to such alarming levels after one of the most invasive (and economically distressing) of global government responses?