Author: Sue Maclennan

The 10 April  2020 edition of Grocott’s Mail is in isiXhosa and Afrikaans only. Together with Rhodes University Community Engagement and some of the ward councillors and ward committee members, we have been bringing the lockdown editions of the newspaper to communities in east Makhanda. This week, it was apparent to the distribution teams that while residents appreciated receiving information, the burning and urgent need for many whose earning ability has been affected by the National Lockdown is for food. This week we will report more on how and where community members can access social support, and how to help…

Please keep strictly to your appointment at the clinic, Day Hospital or Settlers Outpatients Department. That’s the plea from the clinic and hospital heads, who have put a number of new measures in place to ensure the facilities comply with Coronavirus Covid-19 safety regulations. Grocott’s Mail visited Settlers Hospital and Joza Clinic last week to see what preparations had been made there to manage possible Covid-19 cases and prevent the spread of the disease within Makhanda’s health facilities. CLINICS REMAIN OPEN AS NORMAL The clinics in Makhanda are open throughout lockdown and beyond. Health officials in Makana have pleaded with…

The first person living in Makhanda to have tested positive for Covid-19 self-isolated on his return from overseas and remains under quarantine, says the Department of Health. This comes as provincial health officials continue their screening, testing and awareness campaign here and across the Province. Meanwhile, government and civil society initiatives to provide food for needy people in Makhanda are scheduled to meet Wednesday 8* April to better co-ordinate their relief work. The Makhanda resident who was a confirmed case had himself tested on his return from the UK, said the Health Department’s Makana Subdistrict spokesperson Siyanda Manana. “His test…

The Two Oceans marathon scheduled for Saturday 11 April, in Cape Town, has been cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the #StayAtHome lockdown won’t stop a Makhanda couple from completing their own event for a very important cause… all inside their own back yard. Grocott’s Mail found Sally and Colin Price-Smith running up and down the driveway of their garden on Friday and interrupted them long enough to find out more. LISTEN: The ‘Two Streets Marathon’ (their property is enclosed on either side by two streets) – dubbed ‘The Most Beautiful Marathon in Makhanda’ – aims to raise R200 000…

These vehicles were photographed as the drivers stopped at the Fitzroy Street driffie after today’s downpour, in doubt as to whether to proceed through the fast-flowing stream. Arrive Alive (https://www.arrivealive.mobi/) says “As a general rule, if it’s above the top of your wheels its probably too deep.” – and that’s if you’re in a 4×4. “The first thing to do before any unfamiliar water crossing is to walk it. If you cannot walk it you cannot cross it. If the water is flowing too quickly to safely walk the crossing, then it cannot be driven across. Remember, vehicles actually float…

Out on the street, health precautions were scant in Makhanda on Monday 30 March, the first day for social grant payouts. However, inside payout points, measures were in place to protect recipients and shoppers and taxis have been abiding by the half-occupancy regulation. Hours later, in his address to the nation, President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised the seriousness of the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic and announced the rollout of a massive-scale screening, testing, tracing and medical management programme. Older people and the disabled, many accompanied by relatives, formed long queues and clustered in groups outside supermarkets on the day that 10 more…

Taxi hours extended for social grant days ‘Rather get your kids to collect’ More details about the new EC cases None of three patients in the Sarah Baartman District who have tested positive for the Coronavirus Covid-19 lives in Makhanda, although samples for testing from one of them were taken here. And law enforcement will be out in full force from Monday 30 March 2020, the first day in the current social grant payment cycle. The Office of the Premier on Sunday 29 March issued a statement on five people in the province who have tested positive for the Coronavirus…

This is how Lockdown Day One looked in Makhanda. Sue Maclennan reports. Small family groups of two or three walked from Albany Road, over the tracks and along African Street towards Pick n Pay and Checkers. On the other long road to town, the length of Raglan Road from Joza and beyond, families walked behind paid trolley pushers getting their groceries home from them. This was Day One of Lockdown, Friday 27 March. Some residents found the time restriction on taxis difficult; others wanted more visible enforcement. Law enforcement officers found themselves as busy as ever and now more, as…

“Two… three…  four… whooaahhh… whooaahhh… we’re only allowed 50 people inside… two… three… oh no – now a couple! “A metre apart people, please stay a metre apart!” “Can you please come home with me and tell that to my husband?” A distance of a metre and a half between shoppers meant the queue outside Pick n Pay at Pepper Grove Mall in Makhanda curled around the corner and stretched past the shut doors of the gift shop, towards the closed bookshop. There was a combination of banter and deadly seriousness – but the patter by the Pick n Pay…

Municipal Manager Moppo Mene says the municipality has obtained the protective equipment required for essential services staff to operate during the coming lockdown under Covid-19 conditions. This follows a warning from the local branch of the South African Municipal Workers union that without the full range of protective equipment and transport, refuse collection will not be carried out. Grocott’s Mail spoke to SAMWU secretary Wandile Duruwe early Thursday 26 March and reached Mene shortly before midday. This morning, Duruwe confirmed that refuse had not been collected this week because of workers’ concerns over protective clothing and equipment. “There are no…