WATCH | 'This isn't child's play': South Africans brace themselves for lockdown

“We are self-employed, so there is no-one who will support us. We are here to support our children,” said Nondobeko, outside her Vetkoek shop in central Cape Town. “By this shutdown ... we are going to die before this virus [kills us].”

Cape Town's streets were eerily quiet ahead of SA's national lockdown, which comes into effect at midnight on March 26. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced It will last until April 16 2020.

Taxi driver Siyavuya Mpengesi believes the lockdown is necessary, but worries about his income. “Few people can survive [the lockdown] as it is the beginning of the year, so there isn't much money saved.”

others are excited about. “I'll just stay home and watch TV with my kids and play games [with them]," said Wilson Masango, as he waited for a bus to Gatesville. “I don't have any plans, but I will be at home with my family.”

For more interviews with South Africans, watch the video above.