As you know, national Covid-19 infections doubled (from 3,300 to 7,220) over the last two weeks. Communal water and sanitation facilities make it likely that this spike will impact informal settlements more heavily than other population groups.
In this context it is concerning that one out of every five informal residents do not have consistent access to water. Residents in Cape Town, Johannesburg and eThekwini in particular reported problems with water pressure, large numbers of people per tap and poor maintenance.
Despite important new initiatives in Johannesburg, Mossel Bay and elsewhere, only one out of every ten residents received soap or sanitizer from government.
Round four of Asivikelane also shows that refuse removal and toilet cleaning has not improved since we last assessed the situation two weeks ago. It costs less than R90 to clean a communal toilet, a small price to pay for reducing infection amongst the most vulnerable.
This week’s results also share good news of soap and sanitizer distribution and significant water and sanitation improvemements in eThekwini and Buffalo City.