The lock-down regulations, implemented in March of last year, did little to protect residents from low-income areas in Cape Town, from Covid-19.

This, according to researchers at the Medical Research Council and the Stellenbosch University who found that herd immunity was more entrenched in people hailing from poorer areas of the Mother City.

Researchers analysed the Covid-19 tests of 405 employees at the V&A Waterfront and found that, on average, almost 25% of Capetonians had already been exposed to the virus.

Co-researcher from the University of Stellenbosch’s Faculty of Medicine, Dr Jane Shaw, says the majority of respondents, who had Covid-19 antibodies, were more likely to live in informal housing.

Shaw says social inequalities lead to a greater spread of the virus among poor communities.

South Africa Study Shows Power of Genomic Surveillance Amid COVID-19 Pandemic. https://t.co/wivwIDfAeG

— SAMRC (@MRCza) February 19, 2021