Residents in the overcrowded Alexandra township are doing their bit in ensuring that Covid-19 doesn’t spread and that people stay home.
After one case was reported in the area north of Joburg, residents formed a collective that encourages people to stay home.
Everyday from 7am to 5pm, a team known as the 'Operation Stay Home Alex' walks the streets and encouraging people to stay home, how to properly wash their hands and educating them about the coronavirus.
The team works with members of the police services and the SA National Defence Force.
One of the members, Simon Sokhitla said after the lockdown was announced, residents were still teeming in the streets.
“We were all over the news and people were saying we didn’t want to comply. It turned out it wasn’t that. Residents just didn’t understand why we needed to stay home.”
Sokhitla said on a normal day, it was hard for Alex residents to stay indoors because of their living conditions.
“Even in winter it is hard for people to stay indoors because of overcrowding in the houses. A lot of people share a small space. People are now frustrated because shops and taverns where they used to escape to are closed. That is why you see people in the street. It is not that they don’t want to comply,” Sokhitla said.
He said there was a lot of frustration on the ground because as a result of the shutdown, people have lost their jobs and other sources of income.
“People are frustrated, they lost their jobs and don’t know where they will get food,” he said.
Sokhitla said as they do the walkabout, they advise parents to keep their children playing in their own yards as much as possible.
“People need to be educated about this and understand why it is important for them to stay home. We encourage them to always ensure that the children bath and are clean. To wipe down frequently used objects like the doorknob and TV remote with sanitize as often as they can.”
He said that the government handed out sanitizer in the area.
Sokhitla said they were also trying to drive the message in the township’s squatter camp where residents depend on communal taps for water.
“We encourage people to walk to the tap as soon as they wake up to wash their hands with water and soap. We also remind them to wash their hands all the time before they eat. We encourage them to protect themselves with the little that they have because we don’t know who has the virus and who doesn’t,” Sokhitla said.
In some areas, the army and police have been accused of being abusive to the community. Sokhitla said this was not the group's aim.
“We don’t abuse anyone. Our mission is not to beat up people but to make them understand how serious this is. We want them to understand and save lives at the same time,” he said.