Durban – Hungry, and afraid, this was how a mother of four described the atmosphere at home during the 21-day national lockdown that was implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Vuyile Cele lives in Bayview, Chatsworth, with her husband and four sons aged 18, 16, 12 and three.
“We are surrounded by Manyaleni, Khokhoba and Village informal settlements, and we are all battling to survive. But some people still do not take this virus seriously. Some believe that the coronavirus is a non-black person’s problem. This is dangerous.”
Cele hoped that government intervention was on the way as she feared the lack of knowledge and desperation to put food on tables would render the lockdown redundant.
“People in our area, like my family, live hand to mouth. We had enough to keep us going. But now that people are sitting at home, there is no money.
“People are going to start searching for work or turn to a life of crime. The poor are getting poorer and the sick will get sicker.
“We are barely surviving the first few days of the lockdown, so if it gets extended, my family would be ruined.”
She believed that if a person tested positive for Covid-19 in her area, it would spell the end.
“The virus would ravage us. We are all so close to each other, and there are communal facilities like toilets.
“Over 100 people share one toilet, that is not hygienic or safe. We all have a right to be safe, and we put our faith in the department of health. They must come to test, screen and teach us.”
Nana Zulu, 30, of uMlazi, said she was coping with the lockdown as best as she could. Zulu, from Q Section, is self-employed and lives alone.
“The first few days of the lockdown were quite strict. There was no noise and no taxis. But ever since people started getting pension, everybody has been up and down in the area - some pretending to get essentials,” she said.
Zulu said that she had only seen police patrolling in her area once in the first few days of the lockdown, and was yet to see them again.
She lives in the same area as the teacher who recently passed away due to Covid-19 and said the pandemic had now become serious.
“It now means that it’s around my area and that a lot of people can get infected so it raises fear.
"Personally, I feel the only ones who get infected are those who are in constant interaction with others,” said Zulu.
She added she wasn’t very worried about contracting the virus.
“I don’t really have friends in the area and I don’t have people who come and visit me. So I’m not worried because I’m not interacting with people in the area. We keep washing our hands so hopefully nothing will happen to me,” she said.