Michael Gove claimed the “virus does not discriminate”. This may be true for the disease itself, but not only is the risk of contracting it disproportionate, the ability to recover from coronavirus is uneven.
At the time of writing this blog, Cape Town had 256 cases of COVID 19, with figures likely to accelerate despite a nation-wide lockdown (see fig. 1). This brief blog will assess the environmental injustice beginning to unfold in Cape’s informal settlements.
Early research has shown that poverty and inequality increases risk of transmission of COVID 19 and likelihood of death. With the first confirmed case in Khayelitsha Township, the future looks bleak.
‘Preventative tips’ (see fig.2.) have been shared by the state on the ‘resource portal’, but what use are these to Township dwellers with no access to internet? Not only does this reinforce a ‘digital divide’, but the recommendations listed are only accessible to the affluent.
Provision of clean water is scarce. People cannot afford hand sanitisers. And ‘social distancing’ is futile in shacks crammed with large families.
In summary, the state’s response to coronavirus must include the safety and wellbeing of its informal settlements, with existing measures lacking serious insight and judgement. Cape Town cannot repeat the same mistakes made during the Bubonic plague (Swanson 1977).
List of references:
Cocks and Sishi (2020) “South Africa Struggles With Lockdown as It Records First Coronavirus Death” (WWW) Washington, D.C: U. S. News and World Report (https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-03-27/south-africa-reports-first-two-coronavirus-deaths-as-cases-breach-1-000; 31 March 2020).
Swanson, M. W. (1977) “The Sanitation Syndrome: Bubonic Plague and Urban Native Policy in the Cape Colony, 1900–1909”, The Journal of African History, 18, 3, 387-410.
Urban Political Ecology UCL 
It is sad to read that the coronavirus is arrived in informal settlements when we have read your other posts concerning the lack of access to water and sanitation in these neighbourhoods. Hopefully the virus is not using water to contaminate, but it is probably difficult to wash their hand often, as long as they were all inform of the precautions.
Something else that would be interesting is what can are income of these dwellers in a period of lockdown. I guess that they are not all employees in a stable job or have access to social benefits.
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It is really interesting yet unfortunate to see how digital divide is becoming a much more prominent social concern that worsens information asymmetry, especially during the times of a pandemic. The environmental injustice in this case needs to be addressed by sharing knowledge and information with the informal dwellers. It will be interesting to see how Cape Town responds to this issue.
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This will be a very interesting topic to come back to in say a years time. The UPE lens in this sense will be interesting to see who has access to services and who decides that!
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