While many people have been forced to stay at home or work from home, essential service workers are still serving the country.
Among them is Bongile Nkolo, a security guard at the Point shopping centre in Sea Point.
The Langa resident said he’d rather be at work than in his township during the lockdown.
“Firstly, I’m grateful to still have a job that puts bread on the table. Most people in my area are in worse situations,” he said.
Mr Nkolo said he felt safer being at work than being at home. He said his bosses have done all they can to provide them with personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, gloves and hand sanitiser.
Mr Nkolo worried that people in his area were not taking the pandemic seriously.
“I don’t feel safe in my area. People are still hanging out in groups and I know, had I not been working, I would’ve been part of the groups, but my job is not only helping with the bills
but it’s also protecting me,” he said.
He said he enjoyed being at work because people have been practising physical distancing and almost everyone coming to the centre has a mask on.
He compared this to his area.
“I understand most people can’t afford them but most people don’t even bother about social distancing. When I left for work, people were playing card games and some were basking in the sun in groups,” he said.
Security officers, health workers in the public and private sectors, emergency personnel and police are among the essential workers who are on duty during the nationwide lockdown.
