Cape Town - After the case of a homeless person who tested positive for Covid-19 at the City-run Strandfontein temporary shelter was reported, the Western Cape High Court has granted an interim order allowing the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to
monitor the camp.
Judge Siraj Desai ruled on Thursday that the monitoring of human rights at the camp should continue.
Monitors appointed by SAHRC were allegedly barred from accessing the camp used as a shelter in accordance with the Covid-19
lockdown regulations. The City lodged an interdict to bar the monitors.
Respondents, represented by the Legal Resources Centre, argued that the order sought by the City would effectively limit the body’s power to monitor the observance of human rights and would set a negative precedent for any other monitoring done by the SAHRC.
The Women’s Legal Centre and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies have been admitted as amici curiae (friends of the court) in the matter to be heard next Wednesday.
SAHRC Provincial Commissioner Chris Nissen welcomed the ruling, adding that the rights body was concerned about what was “happening at the shelter” as requests for information were not responded to.
“We are concerned about people who were on the site. What happened to them? If they were sent home, is there monitoring? Were they tested before leaving the shelter. The person who tested positive was in contact with over 350 people, so what
happened to them?” Nissen said.
Doctors Without Borders raised concerns over conditions at the shelter, highlighting a lack of physical distancing, and said rather than being a place of safety, the shelter exposed vulnerable people to further harm.
On Wednesday, StreetScapes said one of six people from the shelter who were tested had tested positive for Covid-19.
Strategic partnerships manager at Khulisa Social Solutions Jesse Laitinen said the six were tested on Monday at a private facility as they could not risk waiting for at least 10 days at a public institution. The group had been at the camp since it was established.
“The individual was isolated and is in quarantine now. But we had to test 25 other people at the accommodation site, including staff and myself. We have self-isolated until we get the results on Sunday (tomorrow),” she added.
Mayoral committee member for community health Zahid Badroodien, said the City was assisting the NGO and also tracking and monitoring others who had been transferred to other facilities during this period.
Badroodien said no further persons had been moved off site since the confirmation of the positive case. Every person was screened before they left the site.
Executive director for safety and security Richard Bosman said the City had never taken issue with either
staff from the commission or commissioners monitoring activities at Strandfontein.