The policeman raised his bullhorn to shout instructions, backed up by a group of soldiers piling out of an armored personnel carrier.

"Go home. Get your stuff and go," he yelled. It was an impossible instruction to a group of homeless people stirring from under their cardboard boxes and sleeping bags.

The streams of mostly young men appeared in alleyways and from under store-front awnings in downtown Johannesburg, some carrying satchels, others holding black plastic trash bags with all of their possessions.

"We are going to have a tough time with this," said Philip Janjtie, a young homeless man who had traveled to the city to find work.

On day one of the coronavirus, or Covid-19, lockdown in South Africa last Friday, the stark divide in the world's most unequal society was immediately laid bare. So far more than 1,300 people have been confirmed with the disease in South Africa, but authorities are bracing for the worst.

In affluent suburbs, people woke up to the inconvenient reality of three weeks isolated in their homes. Only essential movement is allowed and parks are closed. But many have gardens for their children to play in.

In informal settlements and city centers across the country, however, South Africans have limited choices to keep themselves safe from the virus.

Across this continent, social distancing is a refuge for the privileged and ingrained inequality is the reality everywhere. In Lagos, Nigeria -- where the informal economy is the lifeblood and lifeline for millions -- the markets are now shuttered. In Kenya, police have enforced a curfew with batons and teargas.

But sprawling townships and many thousands of homeless are an extraordinary challenge for his government during this pandemic.

On Monday, day four of the lockdown, at least 1,000 homeless men were rounded up and crammed into a rusted soccer stadium in Pretoria, the nation's capital.

A long line of them squat on the concrete floor. The line snaked out of the grounds and onto the street where they set up a makeshift methadone clinic.

"The goal here is to keep Covid out of this community," says Sasha Lalla, a leader at COSUP, a city-supported substance abuse program. He worries that the thousands of homeless in Pretoria could be hardest hit if the virus spreads.

"I think then we will be seeing a situation where people with compromised immune systems are not just at risk of Covid-19, they are at risk of death. We have a responsibility to keep our most vulnerable safe," he said.

Inside the stadium, many.... Read full article https://djkotech.com.ng/2020/04/02/covid_19-south-africa-gathered-homeless-people-into-a-sports-stadium/


Source: Dj Kotech
https://djkotech.com.ng/2020/04/02/covid_19-south-africa-gathered-homeless-people-into-a-sports-stadium/

South Africans are the most laziest set of Africans you can find anywhere. The number of homeless people there is mind boggling.

MASTERCHIEF0847:
South Africans are the most laziest set of Africans you can find anywhere.
The number of homeless people there is mind boggling.

funny thing is they have homes but are jealous of people living in the city and get lost in the rush.