As the country continues to battle with the Corona Virus pandemic, things seem to be getting real for Sowetans as statistics by the Gauteng Department of Health, stated that Soweto had recorded the highest number of infections by Monday, July 13. Soweto alone, recorded about 10 483 cases, with 5 030 recoveries and 5 453 active cases.
We interviewed some of the residents in the area to find out how this makes them feel and most of them say that “ignorance” by some of the residents is what got us here.
“Our communities are ignorant, people are not taking Corona Virus seriously, life is just going as normal here in Soweto, You find kids roaming around the streets playing soccer without their masks and it’s even sad to see adults busy doing house parties in this situation.
[also read] – 1000 reusable masks donated to Soweto essential workers
“With such behavior, the number will keep increasing. To be honest, I’m so scared and this thing of our kids going back to school doesn’t sit well with me, why not wait until September for them to go back to school. It’s not even safe to go to the hospital these days because of the death rate, there’s a possibility that when you go to the hospital you may not come back alive, I have seen such happen,” said Mando Mtabasinde from Pimville.
“People are not taking this serious, they are going on as if we are on level 1, No masks no social distancing like everything is back to normal. Police visibility has now subsided it’s normal. People chill in corners hence the high numbers and they are infecting each other daily because basically they still believe that Corona does not exist,” said Nyiko Mashaba from Chiawelo.
“This is really sad, but as much as I blame it on ignorance, I also think it was bound to happen because Soweto is one of the townships with a lot of highly congested areas.
“Also, I think there isn’t enough and detailed education about this pandemic and lastly, I think another problem is with the way information is being communicated to us, it is quite confusing, you’ll hear something today, the next day you hear another that contradicts what you heard yesterday,” Grace Selolo from Diepkloof.
” This is really scary, and the problem is the stubbornness of our people, I don’t know if it’s ignorance what, but people seem not to be taking it seriously, I really don’t know what needs to be done for them to get a wake-up call, because there’s already enough evidence that it is real and it is dangerous.
“Personally, I take care of myself, I follow social distancing rules, I sanitize, I wash my hands, etc. But at the end of the day, I’m still a resident in Soweto and with these statistics, I can never be assured that I won’t get infected,” said Baanetse Mokwanyane from Pimville.
Follow Us Here:
Catch the latest news by visiting our other platforms:
