ABSTRACT
When the COVID-19 pandemic reached South Africa in March 2020, the country already faced severe social, economic, and political difficulties. South Africa recorded its first Coronavirus infection on 5 March 2020. By 31 July, South Africa placed among the top five in the world in terms of confirmed COVID-19 infections with a total of 493,183 infections. The national government declared a national state of disaster on 15 March 2020 and on 27 March 2020 imposed one of the harshest lockdown regimes globally. The South African Police Services, municipal law enforcement officers, and even the South African National Defense Force were deployed to enforce the lockdown rules. South Africa’ nine provincial governments played a key role in fighting the pandemic, although it was limited to assisting national government with the implementation of the national strategy. The crisis intensified the need for collaboration between national, provincial, and local governments.
