History and lessons derived from elsewhere on the globe has given us ample proof that it is not only healthcare workers alone who halt the spread of pandemics such as the deadly COVID-19 but rather a resolute determination from every individual global citizen.

In all recorded pandemics that claimed the lives of millions of people and plunged entire economies into the doldrums, behavioural changes have always proven to be key in putting the brakes on the spread of infections.

We have in the recent past seen how the world and South Africa managed to considerably reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS infections after people heeded the call for a fundamental change of behaviour.

This came about through radical mindset shifts and we gradually saw people embracing prophylactics such as the constant use of condoms during sexual intercourse as well sticking religiously to their antiretroviral treatment.

More recently, the resolute determination of China’s 1.4 billion people saw that country beating the coronavirus which some believed would be impossible to beat because of the country’s population density. The Chinese people followed government regulations to the letter by among other things, wearing masks and staying at home during the lockdown and adhering to good hygiene.

If South Africans want to end the deadly COVID-19, they must take a leaf from how previous pandemics have been defeated.

Individuals need to play a more active role. This is important because we don’t want to see ourselves having an exponential growth in contaminations while there is massive body of historical knowledge and lessons that we can learn from.

We must use to our advantage the observation by Indira Gandhi that “History is the best teacher, who has the worst students" by demonstrably showing that we can use to our advantage lessons gleaned from elsewhere in the world.

South Africans will indeed be bad students of history if we don’t take responsibility and fight the pandemic head on.

The South African government has continued to play its role in an exemplary manner.

The way in which our government has coordinated efforts to contain the spread of the virus is highly commendable. It is an undeniable truth that the virus would have spread faster than it has had it not been because of government’s well-coordinated interventions.

The message that South Africans are getting from the government is clear, unambiguous, logical and seeks to unite people to fight against the common enemy. We have been continuously reminded to prevent infections through social distancing, washing of hands with soap and more importantly, have been asked us to stay indoors for a duration of 21 days.

The behaviour of some of our people however is disappointing to say the least. People continue to defy regulations by behaving as if it is business as usual. Some people violate the lockdown by visiting friends and having gatherings such as house drinking parties and weddings. We have also heard of people who do not co-operate when they are asked to test for COVID-19.

I want to warn our people that if they do not follow the regulations, the infection rate will grow exponentially and lead to healthcare workers being overwhelmed by workload. The number of healthcare workers who get infected will also grow and we will have no one to treat patients. So far, the efforts put by the healthcare workers in looking after those who have contracted the virus and preventing it from spreading, have been highly laudable.

Let us continue to support and protect them.

Let us be a nation that listens. There is really no need for the law enforcement agencies to police us. Let us learn from the Chinese who, when they were engulfed by the pandemic, listened to their government and changed the way they behaved. If we do that, there will be no need for the army and the police to follow us and they can end up aiding in other aspects of the fight against the pandemic.

Leaders from all structures such as the religious sector, traditional leadership and the civil society will continue to provide support to the provincial government as it continues to undertake vitally important role of protecting our people.

Written by Nontembeko Boyce in her own capacity. She is the Speaker of KwaZulu-Natal Legislature