New Frame photojournalists continue to bear witness to the realities of an unfolding lockdown. 12 May was International Nurses Day, so we pay tribute to those risking their lives to fight Covid-19.
The seventh week of lockdown has now passed. In Mpumalanga, a combination of boredom and fear loom large as tourist towns lie empty and impoverished people in South Africa’s rural areas receive dispatches about the state of the nation on the radio.
International Nurses Day on 12 May meant business as usual for our frontline health workers, and communities continue to take it upon themselves to support each other.
In these darkest of times, our most impoverished citizens continue to remind us that despite social distancing, our greatest strength lies in solidarity.
8 May 2020: A police roadblock just after the Etwatwa and Springs off-ramp on the N12, heading east from Johannesburg. Officials checked travel permits and, in some cases, took motorists’ temperatures. (Photograph by John Hogg)8 May 2020: The usually busy Alzu Petroport convenience and fuel stop on the N4, which has a number of restaurants and gift shops, is barely ticking over. In half an hour on this particular Friday morning, only about eight vehicles stopped for fuel. Forecourt supervisor Thabo Mila says business has dropped substantially and boredom has set in among those who work there. (Photograph by John Hogg)15 May 2020: City of Joburg member of the mayoral committee for community development Margaret Arnolds works with the Eldorado Park Covid-19 Disaster Forum team to teach kids how to stay safe. (Photograph by Oupa Nkosi)8 May 2020: Simon Madiba from Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga warms himself in the morning sun at a garage in Ogies as he waits for transport on his return to work. (Photograph by John Hogg)6 May 2020: Men begging at a quiet traffic light in Durban. (Photograph by Khaya Ngwenya) 8 May 2020: Losta Mashego from Sakhelwe in Dullstroom making her way home. She is doubly concerned about the coronavirus and the lack of seriousness shown by a number of younger members of her community. (Photograph by John Hogg)6 May 2020: A man takes a break during his lunch hour in a pallets factory in Isipingo, Durban. (Photograph by Khaya Ngwenya)
8 May 2020: A team tests farm workers in Faure on the outskirts of Cape Town for Covid-19. Because the turnout was slow, health workers drove around the area using a loud-hailer to invite residents to be tested. (Photograph by Barry Christianson)
8 May 2020: A health worker walks around Faure looking for residents to invite for Covid-19 testing. (Photograph by Barry Christianson)
Left: 8 May 2020: A team tests farm workers in Faure on the outskirts of Cape Town for Covid-19. Because the turnout was slow, health workers drove around the area using a loud-hailer to invite residents to be tested. (Photograph by Barry Christianson) Right: 8 May 2020: A health worker walks around Faure looking for residents to invite for Covid-19 testing. (Photograph by Barry Christianson)
8 May 2020: Sheep visit the Covid-19 test site in Faure, injecting some humour into the morning. (Photograph by Barry Christianson)
8 May 2020: A health worker takes a break from testing in Faure. (Photograph by Barry Christianson)
Left: 8 May 2020: Sheep visit the Covid-19 test site in Faure, injecting some humour into the morning. (Photograph by Barry Christianson) Right: 8 May 2020: A health worker takes a break from testing in Faure. (Photograph by Barry Christianson)9 May 2020: From left, Luyanda Mto, Celeste Jonker and Buhle Nkomonda at a pop-up testing centre outside Khayelitsha Hospital in Cape Town. It was set up to help swab the more than 270 employees of three shopping centres who had been in contact with colleagues who tested positive for Covid-19. (Photograph by Barry Christianson)9 May 2020: Inside the pop-up testing facility at Khayelitsha Hospital. (Photograph by Barry Christianson)9 May 2020: A cleaner mops the floor of Khayelitsha Hospital’s pop-up testing centre at the end of the day. (Photograph by Barry Christianson)12 May 2020: A nurse from a Sebokeng clinic in southern Gauteng on International Nurses Day. (Photograph by Ihsaan Haffejee)12 May 2020: Nurses from a Sebokeng clinic gathered on International Nurses Day to commemorate the healthcare workers who are on the frontlines of the fight against the coronavirus. (Photograph by Ihsaan Haffejee)
12 May 2020: Tumelo Moema matches her face mask with a colourful sunglasses in Sebokeng. Picture: Ihsaan Haffejee
12 May 2020: Rorisang Thandekiso matches her face mask with a colourful scarf in Sebokeng. Picture: Ihsaan Haffejee
12 May 2020: Mmakgomo Raikane wears a face mask and eye shield covered in fashionable colours in Sebokeng. Picture: Ihsaan Haffejee
12 May 2020: From left, Tumelo Moema and Rorisang Thandekiso coordinate their face masks with their other accessories, while Mmakgomo Raikane has an eye shield to match her face mask. (Photographs by Ihsaan Haffejee)8 May 2020: Residents in Carolina, Mpumalanga, say there has been a lot of activity on the streets during the government’s Covid-19 lockdown. Patrols by the army and police are low-key, with most but not all the townspeople wearing face masks in public. (Photograph by John Hogg)12 May 2020: The Eldorado Park Covid-19 Disaster Forum prepares to distribute 120 food parcels. (Photograph by Oupa Nkosi)12 May 2020: The Eldorado Park forum raised R70 000 for food parcels. (Photograph by Oupa Nkosi)12 May 2020: The Eldorado Park team distributes food parcels in neighbouring Klipspruit West. (Photograph by Oupa Nkosi)12 May 2020: The Eldorado Park Covid-19 Disaster Forum team distributes food parcels according to lists of names that community leaders compiled prior to their visits. (Photograph by Oupa Nkosi)12 May 2020: One of the recipients of a food parcel from the Eldorado Park Covid-19 Disaster Forum. (Photograph by Oupa Nkosi)8 May 2020: The washing line of a frontline worker in Sakhelwe ekasi in Dullstroom, Mpumalanga. (Photograph by John Hogg)14 May 2020: Joburg residents continue to exercise in Delta Park under level four lockdown regulations after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a move to level three for most parts of the country by the end of May. His cautious approach no doubt disappointed many as the country’s economy struggles, with more and more people voicing their frustrations about the mostly financial effect the lockdown has had on them. (Photograph by Madelene Cronjé)14 May 2020: Inside a makeshift shelter in Blairgowrie, Johannesburg, shared by two waste pickers. They did not want to be identified as their families don’t know how they make their money. (Photograph by Madelene Cronjé)14 May 2020: A waste picker who had been living in Blairgowrie alone for a year invited another waste picker who had moved into the area to stay with him at the start of the national lockdown. ‘Lockdown has been really hard on us, but at least I made a friend.’ (Photograph by Madelene Cronjé)
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