On Oxford Road in Bedford Gardens, Johannesburg, the dead continue to claim the green palisade fence that rings the St James Presbyterian Church, where a white satin ribbon flutters for each South African killed by Covid-19.
On Thursday, December 17, that number stood at 23,827 after 166 new ribbons were added that morning to the fence.
For caretakers Silva Cossa and Leonard Makuyo it has become a morning ritual that began in the early days of the pandemic.
On July 23, they had to tie 572 ribbons, when South Africa recorded its worst tally of deaths over a 24-hour period. The numbers are growing again as the second wave of the pandemic ravages the country.