Where masks are optional and ‘I’m not afraid of Covid’
● An amapiano song plays from a boombox attached to a bicycle as a group of boys without masks perform bike stunts in Soweto’s Vilakazi Street. At the Hector Pieterson Museum teenagers throw stones into the pond. A little further along the road a man lights a joint in his car alongside a group of people hanging out at a car wash.
Closer to Jabulani Mall, a man sings “gwaais, gwaais”. He’s one of several hawkers in the area selling cigarettes. Taxis hoot and women shop for wigs and clothes. Men gamble, most of them not wearing masks.
When Gauteng emerged as SA’s Covid-19 epicentre, Soweto became Joburg’s hotspot.
By this week the city had registered 71,322 positive cases. District D, which includes Doornkop, Soweto, Dobsonville and Protea Glen, accounted for 16,236 of those, the highest total in Johannesburg. This is followed by the inner city and Johannesburg South sub-district, with 12,452 cases, and the Alex/Sandton/Wynberg region, with 11,766 infections.
Professor Adrian Puren of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said the high number of cases in these areas was expected, not only because of their high density, but because of a lack of physical distancing, wearing of masks and hand hygiene.
“This virus is not going to go away for a few years yet. So we’re still really going to need to have all those particular elements in place until such time as we have suitable medication to prevent transmission and a vaccine,” Puren said.
At the car wash, Mageba Zulu, wearing his mask on his chin like a beard warmer, said Covid has only affected some aspects of life in Soweto.
“I’m not scared of Covid,” said Zulu.
“The streets are still busy but by 6pm it gets quiet. There are no more gigs and no nice times. The families who were selling to feed their kids can’t do that anymore. Cops are always on the street.”
At Baba X’s car wash in Orlando West, panelbeater Ayanda Buthelezi lit his joint. At the mention of hand sanitiser he whipped out a bottle and his friends reached for a spray. The group said it is business as usual in Orlando West. The curfew does not apply to them because people need to “hustle”. Boredom, frustration and anxiety brought the group together.
Actor Tshepho Ndaba said many in Soweto are just trying to survive: “We can’t be trapped indoors and stress the whole day. Government promised us many things and didn’t deliver, so we are saying we didn’t promise to sit at home. People are hustling; they’re smoking, socialising and visiting their friends. It’s still happening.”
In Protea Glen, children played in the streets with no masks and groups of men walked about and sat together drinking and smoking.
Puren said the rising number of coronavirus infections puts strain on an already strained health-care system.
The number of recoveries is also high — just over 50% — but Puren said it is important to continue to adhere to regulations in order to protect the vulnerable in the community.
Professor Shabir Madhi of Wits University, who heads SA’s Covid-19 vaccine trial, said this “natural evolution” of the virus is to be expected in high-density communities like Soweto.
Contributing to the infection rate, said Madhi, is a reliance on public transport and noncompliance with Covid protocols.
“The relaxing of regulations certainly contributed to an increase in transmissions, but we can’t be under level 5 lockdown perpetually until a vaccine arrives in about two years. Had people been diligent about adherence to the non-pharmaceutical interventions, we wouldn’t be facing what we are experiencing now,” Madhi said.
On the frontline of the pandemic in Soweto is Dr Phumudzo Ndwambi, a surgeon at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
She said initially two wards — about 100 beds in total — were earmarked for Covid patients. In April those wards had four patients. Now the hospital has eight dedicated wards, all of which are full.
What she sees “driving to work is reflective of what we’re seeing in the hospital. People in the area are walking around without masks, they’re jogging without masks, standing in groups at the taxi rank and there’s no social distancing,” Ndwambi said.
We are saying we didn’t promise to sit at home Tshepo Ndaba