Its hard not to see a positive trend in SA's Covid-19 stats. 

Maybe its too early to shout hooray or to be sure of where trends are going, but being encouraged by the trends is all good.

The graph started to flatten in mid-July, but now its definitely starting to fall. It looks like the peak has passed.  

Our cumulative recovery rate has also climbed to 69% even though historic recoveries have always lagged infections, by weeks. 

I think President Ramaphosa has been effective and far from dictatorial. Indeed he is pretty consultative. 

Some think he is too consultative, but that is his style. He strives to be inclusive and a good listener. 

Well, whatever, our vigilance is paying off. We appear to be winning. Level 2 may be just around the corner. 

Death rates are also showing positive trends. Aside from one dreadful day when 600 died, deaths have stabilized and are now in decline. Again, its maybe too early to be sure. 


And while all that is happening other good news emerges. 

The Rand did fall back in the past few days after US economic data revealed a 32% quarter-on-quarter drop in GDP growth. 

That will always hurt emerging economies most. But the Rand has been surprisingly resilient. 

Gold has also risen to almost $2000 a Troy ounce, busting all records. It makes sense that when the world has limited options, Gold is the last haven. Its always been that way. 

The JSE is also doing well, having fully made up all its Covid-19 losses to return to the black.  

And other positive signs are also flashing. But again, we must be cautious for 2nd quarter economic data is expected to be gloomy. 

But all in all, there is still reason to be hopeful. 

(c) Peter Missing @ me2u2all.blogspot.com