Mourning for the victims of COVID-19

25 November 2020
Mourning for the victims of COVID-19

Today we embarked on three days of mourning for the victims of COVID-19.

At CityKidz we flew our national flag and school flags at half-mast. Each child and staff member received a black ribbon to attach on his/her chest. We spent twenty minutes in remembrance to signify our respect for all those who have departed. The message conveyed was to demonstrate our solidarity with all South Africans and show that we care for one another in sorrow, sickness and in death.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa took to the podium on the 11th November, Wednesday evening, to address the state of the country and the progress that has been made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Many of us have had to bid farewell to a loved one, a friend, or a colleague,” Ramaphosa continued. “As we look back on a year of much pain and sorrow, it is important as a nation that we should honour and remember all those who have succumbed to this disease.”

Although the rate of mortality from COVID-19 remains relatively low in South Africa, over 20,000 people have died from the virus and Ramaphosa has called on the nation to remember them.  “We cannot begin to calculate the loss and anguish that these deaths have caused,” he said.National flags will fly at half-mast and citizens are urged to wear black to show solidarity.