South Africa is in Africa but, if its response to Covid-19 is a guide, not of it.

Strangely, for a country whose public debate is usually loud and polarised, there was little discussion in 2020 of how well the country fared in combatting the virus. In the mainstream, it was simply assumed that it did well, despite over three-quarters of a million cases and over 20 000 deaths by late November. This was followed by a more severe ‘second wave’ which proved at least twice as deadly as the first. None of this caused alarm in the public debate. It was, throughout the year, common to encounter people who insisted that South Africa was ‘doing well’ in limiting Covid-19's effect.

But on what was this claim based? We were never told. Since South Africa's case numbers were at one stage fifth highest in the world and, by the end of November, still in the top 15 although it is only the planet's twenty-fifth biggest country,1 the self-congratulation seems unjustified. It certainly did not ‘do well’ compared to the countries of East Asia, most of whose case and death figures were a fraction of this country's (or New Zealand, which appears to have largely defeated Covid-19). It did not ‘do well’ compared to the rest of the African continent. For a long while, it experienced as many cases and deaths as the rest of the continent combined. While its share of both dropped towards the end of the year, it was still, by a large distance, the African country with the most cases and loss of life. But this made no impact on the South African debate. The virus's impact on Africa was rarely reported on by the media and the comparison between South Africa's experience and that of the rest of the continent was ignored by the debate.

The rest of Africa would seem to be the most obvious area to which South Africa should be compared. Covid-19 cases and deaths may not simply be a consequence of how well governments have done in combatting the virus. Climate might matter since the virus is airborne and spreads more rapidly indoors (and so also in countries where climate forces people inside). Age profile might also affect figures because young people were, during 2020, less likely to suffer severe illness or to die of the virus.