Workers in the agricultural and agri-business heartland – and Covid-19 hotspot – fear catching the disease but need the income; stigma stalks the sick; and younger people ignore the virus, lesterkk reports.
If ever a place lived up to its name it’s Ceres in the Western Cape. Ceres is the Roman goddess of agriculture and fertility and showed people how to grow grain and so prevented famine.
The Witzenberg local municipality, which, at 211, has the second-highest number of cases in the Western Cape. Witzenberg municipality community worker Naomi Betana warns that the virus will spread in dense settlements. Betana believes the government is failing to meet track-and-trace targets of people who have tested positive. She said that it’s pointless to screen people who may be asymptomatic, which means they could spread the virus where they live. This is disputed by provincial health authorities.
As the numbers of Covid-19 cases creep higher, the silence of stigma grows louder. People say there is a feeling of embarrassment if you or someone in your family is tested positive. The shame of being tested positive and the fear of becoming infected is taking a toll on workers. Betana and Koopman speak of the psychological toll of the outbreak particularly among working-class people.
The provincial government has confirmed a large number of positive cases have arisen from the agriculture sector. Local organisations say they worry that packhouses will continue to be the epicentres of infection in the municipality. One of the larger fruit processing companies in the area, the Rhodes Fruit Group , said it has been affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
It also announced a financial relief assistance fund for workers affected by Covid-19. Contributions to the fund come from Henderson taking a 50% pay cut while other executives will take a 30% pay cut over the next three months.
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