So just to bring this back on-topic with an update - the South African gubbermint have classified telecoms as an essential service.

Provided you possess the right authorization documentation, you can go out and perform tasks to that keep the bits moving.

Of course, local operators may have finer details about how all this gets done without compromising health & safety for their staff, but for those with infrastructure down this way, it's not doom and gloom in our respect.

Mark.