#Makro trended for two days last week, this after pictures and videos of shoppers were posted. Many of their branches saw queues snaking around the parking lot. Apparently ‘crowd control’ measures were in place, ensuring only 100 shoppers were inside, not sure if this included the cashiers and other ground staff. Especially upon seeing videos of the queues, snaking around and in between the isles. People were bulk buying, following our President’s announcement on restrictions regarding mass gatherings/social distancing and travel. Moreover, two messages started to circulate on WhatsApp, one was recorded by a woman who lives between Greece and South Africa and the other by a Ghanaian national residing in Milan. They were relating their current lived experiences and they painted a very gloomy picture, scenes from movies such as Contagion, World Word Z, Pandemic, etc.
Some of these pictures sparked debate and controversy…
“Queues that long, a perfect place for the virus to spread easily and quickly”
“There’s more than 100 people in that queue, how do these restrictions work”
One lady, a white lady (race matters in this context based on the above posts) responded by posting: “We are just grocery shopping, what’s all the fuss”?
People were concerned upon seeing empty shelves on what stood essential goods. Fact is, very few have the ability to shop at that time of the day. Most people are stuck at work at that time. Moreover, not many can afford to fill up trolleys mid-month, most cannot even afford 1 trolley on payday. We cannot overlook certain privileges. The same way one should not take for granted being able to negotiate flexi hours at work, enabling you to avoid rush hour traffic in the mornings and afternoons.
Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with people planning ahead. Italy, a country with a population exceeding that of South Africa is on a lockdown. This would concern even those with the “Let’s play it by ear” mentality. I am a mother to 2 super-active-growing boys, courtesy of their Monday to Monday physical activities. They eat like sumo wrestlers. I enjoy cooking and often I plan meals days in advance (a privilege as millions go without food daily). Their school holidays have now been stretched to a whole month and I needed to ensure we have enough supplies to lessen my trips to the grocery store. We are encouraged to exercise Social Distancing after all. I had planned to go to Makro last week Monday after gym and I found various reasons to postpone. Instincts were at play, imagine my relief upon seeing the #Makro on Twitter later that afternoon.
My plan was not to stock up for a mini-spaza shop, nor disrupt the food supply chain, nor contribute towards inflated prices (we’ve seen how some retailers have increased prices for sanitizers, surgical masks, etc). Mine was to stock up on essentials to last us 2 months at the very least, that is, if these 2 gobblers plus their cousin don’t polish everything off before the Easter holidays. So, I left home and my 1st stop was a place where I normally buy house cleaning aids, in bulk, as a cost-saving tool (something my mama taught me from a young age). The first item…you guessed it, toilet paper. Hey, EVERY shopper’s trolley had toilet paper. Human beings are full of shit! I stood for a while comparing prices and despite the fact that everyone else was grabbing the expensive 2-ply I grabbed the 1-ply. Less shit in our household. Besides, I’d much rather spend more on food than on wiping down the excr……never mind. At this point 2 women and a guy argued about prices and the one exclaimed: “I need 2-ply, I need to give my arse a proper clean”. Everyone on that isle heard that comment and I for one wanted to respond with something like, “You need more than 2-ply for that ass, try wet wipes and/or a waslap with hot water and soap”.
My next stop was a gas tank refiller for the stove and heater, load-shedding is becoming the norm. Then I filled up my car, your never know. My 4th stop was for another essential supply, ironic for such a store to stock surgical masks. “R25 rands each”, I exclaimed. “I only make R5 profit”, said the owner. My mid-morning was concluded by groceries shopping and lucky for me, there was just this 1 box of 30 Seconds on the shelf, on sale nogal. This was waiting for me 😊
I’ve just realized I forgot to buy Gin, effective sanitizers contain a high alcohol percentage so I assume this will make for a good disinfectant. Someone has to clean the kitchen surfaces before meal preps……..and I believe Quinine has health benefits too.
My Humble Opinion: Covid-19 is here to remind us of the basics, good hygiene and sanitation. Something we ought to do daily, like all habits. Moreover, Covid-19 will ‘force’ families to find creative and fun ways to entertain their kids. No sound-minded parent will ask their kids to go to the park or allow their teenagers to hang out with friends at malls. It will force us to go back to basics, board games for quality family time. We won’t be able to charge our gadgets and power banks during prolonged load-shedding and cable thefts. Eskom might introduce Stage 19 should majority of their ground workers stage (pun-intended) a ‘stay-at-home’. Lucky are those with effective silencers on their generators, solar powered homes and inverters. The rest of us should include sanity whenever we pray for our daily bread. May we as parents come out on the other side stronger. We were just recovering from the 5-week December school holiday, budget-wise and lethargy-wise (yes, that is English). We all know school holidays are taxing financially, physically and emotionally to a certain degree, now this. #ParentAbuse
On a serious note, how are you prepping for this lockdown?. More importantly, are we, as a human race, as a country truly equipped for a lockdown? Once you are done digesting that thought, consider the following. A 21-day lockdown at 00:00 on 26 March 2020. Isaiah 26 verse 20: “Go, my people. Enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you. Hide yourselves for a little while, until his wrath has passed”.
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