Mayor's open letter to Cape Town residents

20 April 2020

Mayors open letter to the residents about the City's COVID-19 efforts.

Dear Residents

The City of Cape Town is going to great lengths to care for the homeless during the National State of Disaster.

We are doing so under National Disaster Regulations. For the duration of the lockdown, Section 11D instructs the state to identify “temporary shelters that meet the necessary hygiene standards for homeless people”.

In response, the City set up the Strandfontein Temporary Emergency Shelter as a centralized hub of services and care to the homeless.

This has enabled us to concentrate our limited resources at this facility to coordinate medical care, security, shelter and services.

Some have asked whether other facilities were considered. The answer is yes, but the fact is stadiums, halls and facilities like the CTICC and Good Hope Centre have been earmarked as field hospitals, isolation, quarantine and screening facilities.

We must be prepared to deal with the epidemic as it progresses in our country.

Of the City’s properties, the Strandfontein Sports Complex enabled us to move quickly because it met very specific criteria for a temporary emergency shelter. These include secure perimeter fencing, access to water and electricity, and enough space for a major logistical operation requiring social distancing.

The location was also perfectly situated along major routes close to health facilities, and well-placed to service both the northern areas, as well as the deep south, Cape Flats, Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha.

The Sports Complex will be restored to its original use following the lockdown, and we sincerely thank the community for bearing with us during this time.

Caring for the homeless at Strandfontein

The City has contracted expert NGO partners to manage care for the homeless on-site, including Haven Night Shelter, Ubuntu and Oasis. These NGO’s have decades of experience in caring for homeless persons.

We have consulted widely on how best to deliver services and care for the homeless during this time.

Based on expert advice, the centralized facility at Strandfontein offered a number of vital advantages:

• the coordinated ability to screen, test and isolate for COVID-19 and TB
• the concentration of medical services and professionals offering daily clinic services, medication, psycho-social support and referrals to specialist care facilities
• the ability to monitor services and standard of care to the homeless in one place, including a minimum of 3 meals per day, hot shower and ablution facilities, laundry services, and shelter from the elements in large weather-proof marquees with blankets and mattresses.
• enhanced Safety and Security services in one location rather than spread thinly across dozens of sites.

From the time of arrival, homeless persons receive medical care they would otherwise not access on the street:

• Every homeless person at Strandfontein has been screened for COVID-19 and Tuberculosis prior to admission at the facility.
• Separate COVID-19 and TB isolation facilities are in place. Referrals to healthcare facilities are made where required.
• An on-site Medical Facility is staffed by at least 15 nurses, doctors, pharmacists and volunteers.
• Daily clinics offer general health checks, including access to medication for pain relief, blood pressure, and anti-depressants.
• As a result, over 800 people have benefitted from the diagnosis of conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, that may have gone unchecked while on the streets. These individuals and are now enrolled for chronic medication.

There is no doubt that we are operating under difficult and extraordinary circumstances, and we have not escaped the nationwide challenges of shelter operations, especially in the early set-up phase.

But together with the existing shelter network, Cape Town has likely achieved the country’s highest per capita service reach to the homeless during lockdown.

Plans to decentralize care for the homeless

It must be stressed that the emergency shelter is a temporary holding location for purposes of the lockdown. Homeless persons are also not held against their will.

Plans are underway to arrange shelter placement or reintegration for all persons at the facility who wish to take up this offer.

On a daily basis, the City and NGO partners are succeeding in efforts to:

• transfer families, women and children to appropriate facilities,
• reunite individuals with their families for those who wish to return home,
• refer people to care facilities for medical or psychosocial reasons
• prepare our post-lockdown plans to offer shelter placement or reintegration

The City encourages all interested organizations, churches and groups to get involved in taking care of Cape Town’s homeless community at this time. Those with the ability to help, do not need permission from the City to open their doors.

We are grateful to all partners and donors who continue making valuable contributions in the form of blankets, water bottles, towels, toilet paper and other essentials.

Individuals and organisations interested in donating towards the cause of caring for our homeless, may use the following contact details:

Disaster Risk Management Centre

Email: disaster.donations@capetown.gov.za
Tel: 021 597 6004 (dedicated donations line)

In COVID-19, we are all facing a common, invisible enemy which does not discriminate.

By working together, we can protect and care for the vulnerable, and combat the spread of the virus.

Sincerely,
Mayor Dan Plato

Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office