Last Tuesday, thousands of workers returned to work for the first time in months as the country eased the five-month lockdown in the war to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic which has killed more than 12,000 South Africans.

Thousands more workers started work when public schools reopened yesterday. This is a critical phase in the country’s fight against the disease which has plunged the world into a deep economic recession. How SA eases its way out of the lockdown will determine whether it succeeds in keeping the disease at bay. The last five months have important lessons for all of us...