WATCH | This is what Joburg north’s normally busy roads look like during lockdown

02 April 2020 - 13:27 By Iavan Pijoos
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The usually busy Witkoppen Road is quiet, with only a few cars on the road.
The usually busy Witkoppen Road is quiet, with only a few cars on the road.
Image: Iavan Pijoos

It’s a cloudy and rainy Thursday morning in Johannesburg. It's seven days into the national lockdown and TimesLIVE took a drive around Johannesburg north's roads to explore the once busy streets and see how many people are venturing out.

The usually busy Witkoppen Road showed a heavy decrease in traffic, with only a few cars on the road.

With restaurants and fast food outlets locked up, a handful of pedestrians made their way to local supermarkets alongside the road.

A man peddling a bicycle and carrying a blue Pick n Pay bag was also seen making his way uphill. There were also a few taxis about.

This after transport minister Fikile Mbalula announced that taxis could operate, but could only be filled to 70% of their capacity due to health precautions regarding the Covid-19 outbreak.

Only a few cars were parked at shopping centres along the road.

Churches' doors and gates were locked.  

Making our way to William Nicol Drive, we found the turn-off at Montecasino was deserted.

The few cars that were on the road included one or two courier company vehicles.

Down Leslie Avenue, the streets and suburb were quiet. Further down the road some cars were parked at the local shopping centre.   

With SA under a nationwide lockdown, in a bid to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, streets and busy spots in Cape Town and Johannesburg are emptying. The bustle of life at iconic SA places is now a mere shadow of what it was. We take a comparative look at these places before and after the country's national lockdown was implemented.


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