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Most people who responded to a survey conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) believe that the national blockade will have an impact on their financial security.
Between 45% and 63% of people reported that the blockade would make it difficult to pay bills, debts, income, feed their families and keep their jobs.
In addition, 26% of people reported they had no money for food, Priscilla Reddy, an extraordinary professor at HSRC, announced in a presentation of the findings on Sunday.
More than half (55%) of residents of informal settlements had no money for food, and approximately two-thirds of residents of municipalities also had no money for food, according to the survey.
Additionally, more than 20% of people in informal settlements and rural areas said their chronic medications were not accessible during the shutdown.
The survey was conducted between April 7 and April 16 and more than 19,000 respondents participated. Of these, 36% were unemployed and 10% had informal or part-time work. The survey aimed to understand what South Africans know and how they are reacting to the Covid-19 emergency.
The survey found that South Africans have largely adhered to national closure regulations, and the results show that 99% of respondents left their homes to receive food, medicine and social benefits or stayed at home.
However, of those who did leave home, 29% reported that they had close contact with 10 or more people. In addition, of those who left their homes, 15% had to use public transport to get to stores.
Additionally, South Africans demonstrated a low-risk perception of the virus, with one in two people believing they had a low risk of contracting the virus, and only one in five people believing they were at high risk of infection.
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