Have we learnt anything from COVID-19, and can we put it to good use in the future?

Abstract

We are not quite 6 months into the pandemic lockdown in South Africa (SA), and our caseload and mortality are finally declining. SA has been spared the severe implications of significant hospitalisations and deaths seen with COVID-19 in the Northern Hemisphere. But as we open up our country, and our hospitals and clinics start to return to normal business, it behoves us as healthcare professionals to look back on the things we did well, and especially at the things we did not do well, so that we can learn some lessons for the future. It would be sad if we shook our heads and patted ourselves on the back and moved on without reflecting on the crisis that has affected us all.