Reflections on COVID-19 and Its Impact on Marginal Urban Places: The Case of Four Small Towns in the Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract

COVID-19 reached South Africa in March 2020, with a national lockdown being implemented on the 26th of that month. The lockdown entailed a total shutdown of non-essential businesses, a curfew and strict safety precautions such as masks, sanitizers and social distance. This chapter examines the impact of COVID-19 in the first 6 months of the pandemic and its subsequent regulations in four small towns (Ceres, Tulbagh, Riebeek Kasteel and Riebeek West) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Key stakeholders from governance, business, health, tourism and residents were interviewed on experiences during this time pertaining to tourism, governance, food security and social welfare. It was found that poverty, unemployment and crime are factors that detract from the prioritization and capacity with which COVID-19 was managed in each town. Rapid rising food insecurity has become a central component to the COVID-19 management strategy and it was handled differently by CBOs and local government.