Every morning I wake up, it seems there is another friend or family member who has been hospitalised, intubated or has died from Covid-19. Even non-coronavirus deaths are amplified because of the heartache of the many who have succumbed to the dreaded virus. Sometimes the cause of death is hard to discern: was it really heart problems, as the family is quick to report, or were the cardiovascular problems Covid-19-related? This week I have to find ways of including at least three drive-by and two online memorials in a packed schedule of remembering the dead. Behind the numbers are the names of real people whose amazing lives have been lost in the sheer frequency of death around us.

This week we lost some of the most incredible South Africans, who have made invaluable contributions to education. I wish to honour them...