South Africa, Cape Town and the Pandemic
Corona virus in Cape Town – in the Western Cape area which is the worst affected area.
The lockdown rules have been eased for most people in Cape Town, so surfers are back on the beach. But just inland
from the city is the largest township in the area – Khayelitsha (population 400.000). The virus is spreading rapidly
there as it will be in all the smaller townships – no space for social distancing, no money for masks or hand
sanitisers and many people living in small shacks. Areas like this can be seen on the other side of the school fences
in Lavender Hill. Whilst Khayelitsha. has a 300-bed hospital, all beds are for Covid-19 patients and ‘numbers are
high’. Many key workers are succumbing to the virus and there is a shortage of nurses. A new ‘Nightingale’ hospital
has been built in a nearby sports hall, which is rapidly filling up with new cases. The virus is ‘spreading like
wildfire’. A few miles away, in a neighbouring township, several hundred people were lining up for a free meal, served
by a local nursery school and funded by donations.
