Words can paint a softened impression of Covid-19’s onslaught

Language gives us many resources for softening the blow of bad news, but in the time of Covid-19, there is a strong case to be made for doing away with these words, or at least being more cautious of the ways they are used. The coverage of Zindzi Mandela-Hlongwane’s passing offers some important lessons in how words can be deceptive in the reporting of Covid-19 deaths, and about the sensitivities associated with them.

In my database of top online news articles in July, my interest was caught by two words which show a strong association with “Covid-19”: “complications” and “related”. Both of these words, when used in phrases such as “Covid-19-related complications”, are examples of words that soften the boundaries of meanings, introducing grey areas and slippage into them.

If I say: “He died of Covid-19,” that statement is either true or false, with no room for manoeuvre between those two alternatives.

With the stigma that has unfortunately grown around the disease, grieving families are reluctant even to acknowledge that their loved ones have died from complications related to Covid-19, as was shown by the death of Mandela-Hlongwane. On July 17,quoted her son Zondwa as saying: “There were other tests that were conducted and my mother did, in fact, test positive for Covid-19 on the day of her passing.

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