• Menu
  • Menu
  • News
  • Subscribe now
    Digital subscription Print+Digital (Bundle) ePaper
  • Logout
Digital subscription
Print+Digital (Bundle)
ePaper
Trending
UAE holidays Videos Classifieds Credit Card Deals
  • Latest News
  • UAE
    • People
    • Science
    • Government
    • Education
    • Crime
    • Emergencies
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Transport
    • Weather
    • Ask the Law
  • Living In UAE
    • Visa+Immigration
    • Housing
    • Phone+Internet
    • Banking
    • Transport
    • Health
    • Education
    • Relocate
    • Reader Queries
    • Safety+Security
  • Business
    • Banking & Insurance
    • Aviation
    • Property
    • Tax News
    • Corporate Tax
    • Analysis
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Markets
    • Retail
    • Corporate News
    • Tech
    • Auto
  • Best Buys
    • Electronics
    • Home and Kitchen
    • Offers
    • Consumables
    • Lifestyle
  • Your Money
    • Saving and Investment
    • Budget Living
    • Taxation
    • Expert Columns
    • Community Tips
    • Cryptocurrency
  • Food
    • Cooking and Cuisines
    • Guide to Cooking
    • Food Show
    • Videos
  • Friday
    • Beauty
    • Wellbeing
    • Art & People
    • Home
    • Friday Partner
  • Games
    • Daily Crossword
    • Sudoku
    • Word Search
    • Spell It
  • Podcasts
  • World
    • Gulf
      • Bahrain
      • Kuwait
      • Oman
      • Qatar
      • Saudi
      • Yemen
    • Mena
    • Europe
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia
      • India
      • Pakistan
      • Philippines
    • Australia-New Zealand
    • Corrections
  • Opinion
    • Columnists
  • Special Reports
  • Things To Do
    • Events & Concerts
    • Bars, Clubs & Pubs
    • Cafes, Restaurants & News
    • Going Out
  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy & Baby
    • Learning & Play
    • Child Health
    • For Mums & Dads
    • Ask Us
    • Games
  • UAE Success Stories
  • Photos
  • Sport
    • UAE Sport
    • Cricket
      • IPL
    • Motorsport
    • Football
      • Premiere League
    • Tennis
    • Golf in UAE
      • UAE
      • World
      • Photos & Videos
      • Course Reviews
      • Learn to Play
      • Gear
    • Olympics
  • Entertainment
    • Hollywood
    • Bollywood
    • South Indian
    • Music
    • OTT
  • Auto
  • Lifestyle
    • Health+Fitness
  • GN Reach
  • Tech
    • Electronics
    • Gaming
    • Media
  • Videos
    • Best Of Bollywood
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Business
    • Sport
    • Community
  • Special Features
    • Supplement eBook
  • The Kurator
    • Life
    • Luxury
    • Style
  • Gold-Forex
  • Gratuity Calculator
  • Notifications
  • Coupons
  • Gold/Forex
  • Prayer Times
  • ePaper
  • GN Store
  • About Gulf News
  • Contact us
  • Work with us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Reach by GN
  • GN Focus
  • Gulf News epaper
  • Sitemap
  • Have your say
  • Printing Services
    • © Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2024. All rights reserved.
    South African coffin-maker saw COVID-19 at work and at home

    Photos

    Login / Sign Up
    Logout
    Saturday, November 23, 2024
    Gold / Forex

    Photos News

    All Sections

    South African coffin-maker saw COVID-19 at work and at home

    Coffin-maker has watched the coronavirus pandemic turn his business upside down

    Published:  October 04, 2020 13:09 AP  and  Compiled by Nathaniel Lacsina, Senior Web Editor
    Follow us
    1 of 8
    South Africa Coffin maker
    Johannesburg: The coffin-maker knew death too well. The boxes were stacked in his echoing workshop like the prows of ships waiting for passengers. COVID-19 was turning his business upside down. Then it moved into his home. Image Credit: AP
    2 of 8
    South Africa Coffin maker
    Casey Pillay's wife was a midwife. That she would be infected, they knew, was a matter of time. When she fell ill during the country's surge in cases, she retreated to the main bedroom. Pillay withdrew to a bedroom next door. Scared, he barely slept, managing a few hours before dawn as his wife wrestled with some of the worst days of her life. When she recovered, we sat down and had a chat. She was really scared because at one stage she thought she was gonna die." Image Credit: AP
    3 of 8
    South Africa Coffin maker
    It was a blessing in disguise, he said, to see someone with COVID-19 recover after so much exposure to death through his work. Pillay, a manager at the coffin-making business, said about 10 colleagues also were infected. All are now OK. Their survival reflects the relatively low death toll from COVID-19 in South Africa, and in Africa in general, as the continent appears to defy dire predictions that the virus would cause massive numbers of deaths. Image Credit: AP
    4 of 8
    South Africa Coffin maker
    Life has edged back toward normal after a surge in infections in South Africa in June and July that threatened to overwhelm public hospitals. Many of the more than 1 million graves that Gauteng province, home of Johannesburg, once hurriedly mapped out have gone unused. Still, the toll from COVID-19 _ which has killed more than 16,000 people in South Africa, nearly half of the continent's over 35,000 deaths _ has been painful, and the world surpassing 1 million confirmed deaths has again led to reflection. "It has been a crazy, crazy, crazy couple of months," Pillay said. Image Credit: AP
    5 of 8
    South Africa Coffin maker
    The need for coffins rose and fell as South Africa's lockdown levels changed, but overall, he said, "business went down." Under the strictest lockdown measures, so few people were driving in South Africa that the country's terrible rate of vehicle deaths plummeted. And alcohol sales were banned, "so you weren't having people fighting, murdering each other," Pillay said. "Unfortunately, our whole business thrives on people dying." Image Credit: AP
    6 of 8
    South Africa Coffin maker
    As the lockdown eased step by step and people were "not being disciplined" and going around without masks, the number of virus deaths increased. Now, a sense of normalcy is returning. But COVID-19 changed everything. The price of basic materials shot up as "every Tom, Dick and Harry became an essential provider," Pillay said. Image Credit: AP
    7 of 8
    South Africa Coffin maker
    And the entire nature of mourning in South Africa changed. The government said COVID-19 burials should happen right away instead of waiting for the usual weekend funerals. With the number of people limited at funerals and graveyards, "people went for the cheapest boxes," Pillay said. In normal times, even the poorest of the poor in South Africa "want to do the best, a kind of show-off thing, a bragging right for them" with quality coffins for their loved ones. Now, there is little time to appreciate it, and few people to impress. Sometimes, mourners could only park on the side of the road and watch the vehicle carrying the body drive by. Image Credit: AP
    8 of 8
    South Africa Coffin maker
    Pillay believes that the beginning of the Southern Hemisphere's summer, along with South Africans' relative youth and the perceived resilience of immune systems, will help his countrymen survive the next wave of infections that health experts are expecting. Again, it's when, not if. Pillay already is watching cases rise again in Britain, in Spain. "Yes, it's imminent," he said. "Definitely." Image Credit: AP

    Trending

    • Photos: Israeli strikes on Gaza and Lebanon

      Photos: Israeli strikes on Gaza and Lebanon

    • How well do you know Pakistan PM Imran Khan?

      How well do you know Pakistan PM Imran Khan?

    • Famous multi-millionaire stars who live in modest homes

      Famous multi-millionaire stars who live in modest homes

    • Pakistan's future superstar, meet Zara Noor Abbas

      Pakistan's future superstar, meet Zara Noor Abbas

    • Look: The winter smog that grips Delhi’s air quality

      Look: The winter smog that grips Delhi’s air quality

    • Arnault leads Forbes list, Ambani only Asian in top 10

      Arnault leads Forbes list, Ambani only Asian in top 10

    Latest In

    • Sharjah announces 5-day holiday for Eid Al Etihad

      10 minutes ago

    • Dubai: Campaign to combat cardiovascular diseases

      17 minutes ago

    • Abu Dhabi Hindu temple wins best project award

      17 minutes ago

    • Trump builds team with FDA, surgeon general picks

      37 minutes ago

    • Indian billionaire Adani down again, but not out

      44 minutes ago
    Go back to top
    Network links:
    • GN Store
    • About Gulf News
    • Contact us
    • Work with us
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Advertise with us
    • Reach by GN
    • GN Focus
    • Gulf News epaper
    • Sitemap
    • Have your say
    • Printing Services
    Find us on Social
    © Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2024. All rights reserved.
    This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to improve your experience and provide more personalized service to you. Both on your website and other media. To find out more about the cookies and data we use, please check out our Privacy Policy.
    Share on Facebook
    Share on Twitter
    Share on Whatsapp
    Share on Mail
    Share on LinkedIn
    Copy link
    Follow on Whatsapp
    Follow on Google
    Follow on Telegram
    Close
    Gulf News

    Get Breaking News Alerts From Gulf News

    We’ll send you latest news updates through the day. You can manage them any time by clicking on the notification icon.

    Subscribe No Thanks