26 Mar 2020

Following the outbreak of coronavirus in December 2019, government of has moved up with speed to put up precautionary measures to reduce the spread of the disease.

Such measures include among others; regular washing of hands, use of hand sanitisers, social distancing, which suggest that people should keep a distance of one metre to two metre apart from each other and prohibition of gatherings of more than 10 people had rather conveyed bittersweet effects on the entertainment industry in Francistown.

Since then, event organisers and music revellers alike have both taken the responsibility of abiding by the set preventive measures to curb the likelihood of spreading the virus.

Although there had not been any case of coronavirus confirmed in Botswana as yet, those in the entertainment industry had taken the responsibility to protect the lives of their customers by either postponing or cancelling all events, however turning Francistown into a ghost town during weekends.

The popularly known gatherings and festivals in Francistown such as the annual Toropo Ya Muka, TRL Redds Soul Sundays to mention a few, have been postponed and put on hold for the safety of revellers, while some were yet to observe the situation.

In an interview recently, Francistown-based deejay, Mosa Puso, also known as Dj Cue, said the outbreak of COVID-19 have dealt the entertainment industry a hard blow.

Under normal circumstances, Dj Cue will bring night crawlers in the city of all things precious under one roof for some good and relaxation sounds over some cold drinks.

Now, with the virus outbreak threatening lives, the people’s Dj has taken government’s warnings seriously and put all the events on hold, a move he said was the best under the circumstances.

He said as deejays they were often used to working around the clock as a way to make a living, but since the outbreak of the virus, they hardly got calls for gigs, if any.

“We don’t know when this will be over, but until then, it is my role and other creatives to consider the safety and well-being of our clientele who have been so supportive over the years,” he said.

For his part, Francistown Arts Meeting Coordinator, Keoagile Bonang concurred with Dj Cue that the outbreak of the virus would be a serious setback to the creative industry, atleast until a vaccine was discovered.

Visual artists according to Bonang should leverage available social media platforms to showcase their work.

As Francistown Arts Meeting, he said they were currently mobilising some visual artists to do informative works about the virus and would soon display them online to bring about awareness on COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Bonang advised visual artists to keep horning their skills by painting and drawing and adhere to the Ministry of Health and Wellness recommendations. ENDS