14 Apr 2020 The included letter ( READ HERE ) has been drafted with the unanimous support of the full Board of Directors of the Observatory Improvement District NPC. We acknowledge the enormous strain that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on the City of Cape Town’s departments and functions and the resultant pressure teams have been placed…
Category: COVID-19 NEWS
South Africa: COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown Demands Safer Temporary Shelters
These were the scenes at the makeshift shelter at the Caledonian stadium in Tshwane before hundreds of vulnerable homeless people were relocated to other smaller shelters across Pretoria. An MSF team conducted health assessments at the stadium and continue to be actively involved in offering care and support to vulnerable populations, including migrants and asylum seekers as…
Homeless people and food security expected to top agenda for new WC pandemic oversight committee.
NEWS | Daily Maverick | By Suné Payne• 16 April 2020 A row over a City of Cape Town relocation camp for homeless people and food security should be high on the agenda of a new oversight committee established by the Western Cape legislature, say MPLs. The Western Cape provincial legislature has launched an oversight committee…
Covid-19 brings rubber bullets and water for the poor
The pandemic has pushed the state towards effective action, but this is simultaneoulsy taking both repressive and potentially progressive forms. In South Africa, and around the world, old certainties, many of them already a little brittle, are rapidly crumbling. The velocity of the changes taking place in the state, the economy and society are extraordinary….
An alert to what the OCA and other Obs Community groups have been doing with regard to the COVID-19 epidemic
I am writing to alert you to what the OCA and other Obs Community groups have been doing with regard to the COVID-19 epidemic. 1. The homeless The situation of the homeless has been a big concern for many people in Observatory and across the Cape Town Metro. We have organized feeding and other support…
Open letter to the Mayor Dan Plato re the Homeless challenges
We write to you openly because we are deeply concerned about the Municipality’s actions regarding the problems faced by homeless people in the COVID-19 epidemic. We believe that the City’s plan to relocate homeless people to a small number of large locations for shelter is a wrong and dangerous decision. Using a single large venue,…
South Africa, you really don’t need to stockpile groceries
NEWS | Tshegofatso Mathe | 19 Mar 2020 Experts have told the Mail & Guardian that it’s unnecessary for most shoppers to stock up on food supplies because of the panic created by the spread of Covid-19 as it will only put pressure on the local food supply chain. This week, shelves were left empty at…
Corona Virus is here – but with your help, not to stay!
Dear Observatory residents and businesses, We are living through one of the most extraordinary challenges facing South Africa and the globe. The COVID-19 pandemic is changing everything about our lives for the foreseeable future. As I write this, 202 people in South Africa have tested positive for the virus and, thankfully, none have died. But…
The WHO has launched a WhatsApp chatbot to warn people about Covid-19 dangers
The WHO has launched a WhatsApp chatbot to provide people with info about the coronavirus. It’s one of a number of steps Facebook is taking to try and direct users to reliable information about the pandemic. WhatsApp has previously struggled with the spread of misinformation on its encrypted platform. The World Health Organisation has launched…
Open Streets – The CAPE TOWN TOGETHER platform can help communities deal with coronavirus disease…
These are trying times and we hope you are all staying safe (at home, if you can). As Open Streets Cape Town we have been thinking about how we can contribute towards the wellbeing of our fellow Cape Town residents and our broader movement. We believe strongly that SOCIAL DISTANCING should mean PHYSICAL DISTANCING and SOCIAL SOLIDARITY. This might just…