As South Africa enters the end of its second week of lockdown, New Frame photojournalists document life and the effects of staying put beyond the coronavirus.
Isolation and social distancing remain a privilege for the minority of people living in South Africa as we are about to enter our third week of the government’s lockdown to try and keep the spread of Covid-19 manageable.
Millions of impoverished South Africans and migrants fear hunger and police brutality more than contracting the coronavirus. People’s homes have been destroyed, homeless people beaten and several citizens killed by the police. And despite a moratorium on evictions during the lockdown, New Frame documented one that took place at night in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, during the week.
The government has extended the lockdown. But with the majority of South Africans already in difficult circumstances, it might soon become unbearable.
3 April 2020: A child plays soccer in the street in Alexandra, Johannesburg, during the government’s Covid-19 lockdown. (Photograph by James Oatway)8 April 2020: Glorious Vele, a caregiver for a 92-year-old woman and an 88-year-old man, waits for a minibus taxi to take her to the home she shares with her charges four days a week, having bought enough groceries to last them until after Easter. The 47-year-old says she is being vigilant and taking every precaution she can to ensure her safety and theirs, including when she goes home to her family for the remaining days of the week. (Photograph by Gulshan Khan)
8 April 2020: From left, brothers Thando Ndlebe (35) and Lazola Ndlebe (33) are from the Eastern Cape. They live on this street corner in Johannesburg and earn a living as waste pickers. The lockdown prevents them from moving around and the waste centres are closed, so they cannot earn an income at the moment. Three days into the lockdown, the police raided their makeshift tent and used pepper spray to try to get them to leave this spot. But they refused to go, saying there is no safe place to keep their trolleys, their livelihood, at the shelters. Like many, they are worried about hunger over and above catching the coronavirus. ‘Everyone is at risk,’ says Thando, ‘but we are more at risk than others.’ (Photograph by Gulshan Khan)
7 April 2020: From left, Daniel Bronkhorst (35) and Gerhard Potgieter (36) at a newly erected shelter for the homeless at the Lyttelton Sports Park in Pretoria. They appreciate that shelter has been provided, but say competition for the food is fierce and they worry about living in close quarters when social distancing has been advised. They wanted to know why they have been locked in for the duration of the government’s lockdown when those who have their own homes are free to leave their houses, saying it feels a bit like a concentration camp. (Photograph by James Puttick)
Left: 8 April 2020: From left, brothers Thando Ndlebe, 35, and Lazola Ndlebe, 33, are from the Eastern Cape. They live on this street corner in Johannesburg and earn a living as waste pickers. The lockdown prevents them from moving around and the waste centres are closed, so they cannot earn an income at the moment. Three days into the lockdown, the police raided their makeshift tent and used pepper spray to try to get them to leave this spot. But they refused to go, saying there is no safe place to keep their trolleys, their livelihood, at the shelters. Like many, they are worried about hunger over and above catching the coronavirus. ‘Everyone is at risk,’ says Thando, ‘but we are more at risk than others.’ (Photograph by Gulshan Khan) Right: 7 April 2020: From left, Daniel Bronkhorst, 35, and Gerhard Potgieter, 36, at a newly erected shelter for the homeless at the Lyttelton Sports Park in Pretoria. They appreciate that shelter has been provided, but say competition for the food is fierce and they worry about living in close quarters when social distancing has been advised. They wanted to know why they have been locked in for the duration of the government’s lockdown when those who have their own homes are free to leave their houses, saying it feels a bit like a concentration camp. (Photograph by James Puttick)8 April 2020: Members of private security company Nemesis, some wearing masks, outside their office in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. Security is considered an essential service during the coronavirus lockdown. (Photograph by Gulshan Khan)8 April 2020: The St Augustine Hospital in Durban closed after 66 people tested positive for Covid-19, including 48 members of staff. (Photograph by Khaya Ngwenya)
8 April 2020: A man walks past carrying groceries while Sibusiso Mkhize from private security firm Nemesis stands guard with a shotgun outside the company’s office in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. (Photograph by Gulshan Khan)
3 April 2020: A soldier walks through Alexandra township in Johannesburg during the government’s 21-day lockdown to limit the spread of the coronavirus. (Photograph by James Oatway)
Left: 8 April 2020: A man walks past carrying groceries while Sibusiso Mkhize from private security firm Nemesis stands guard with a shotgun outside the company’s office in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. (Photograph by Gulshan Khan) Right: 3 April 2020: A soldier walks through Alexandra township in Johannesburg during the government’s lockdown to limit the spread of the coronavirus. (Photograph by James Oatway)8 April 2020: Street trader Anna Shongwe at her stall in Johannesburg’s central business district. The 51-year-old obtained a permit to trade during the lockdown after queuing for four hours at the municipal offices in Braamfontein. She is relieved as she is the sole breadwinner for her four children, but said business is slow as there are far fewer customers owing to the government’s Covid-19 lockdown. (Photograph by James Puttick)2 April 2020: Members of the South African Police Service, Johannesburg Metro Police Department and South African National Defence Force hold a drill at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, Johannesburg, before patrolling the central business district to enforce the countrywide lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus in South Africa. (Photograph by James Puttick)2 April 2020: Police officers and soldiers search the room of a young man during an operation to evict the residents of an occupied building in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, despite a government moratorium on evictions during the Covid-19 lockdown. (Photograph by James Puttick)2 April 2020: A man carries his possessions past members of the South African Police Service, Johannesburg Metro Police Department and South African National Defence Force after being evicted from a building in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, during the lockdown. (Photograph by James Puttick)3 April 2020: Tshiriletso Monegi, 15, practises playing the trumpet in his yard in Alexandra during the Covid-19 lockdown. His elder brother Michael plays for the Revelation Brass Band and is teaching him in the hope that he can join the band one day. Alexandra is one of the most densely populated areas of Johannesburg, making it difficult for residents to abide by the lockdown rules. (Photograph by James Oatway)
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