THERE’S A DEFINING EARLY SCENE in the Russell Crowe epic Gladiator, where – after catapulting the severed head of an enemy back to the gathered barbarian hordes, moments before battle – the titular hero mounts his horse, and stoically instructs his generals: “At my signal… unleash hell.”
At the end of South Africa’s ‘hard’ Covid-19 (coronavirus) lockdown on 1 May this year, the transition date from lockdown Level 5 to Level 4 – when some movement was permitted, and citizens were allowed three hours a day to exercise outdoors – President Cyril Ramaphosa inadvertently re-enacted that scene, effectively announcing during his stately address to the nation: “At my signal… unleash the runners.”
Yes, at 6am sharp on 1 May there were walkers, cyclists, skateboarders, dog walkers, amblers, strollers, hikers (before…