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IN PICTURES | Deserted as SA enters a 21-day lockdown

29 March 2020 - 00:44
By Sunday Times Photographers
The Nelson Mandela Bridge in Braamfontein is uncharacteristically quiet as the lockdown begins.
Image: Alon Skuy The Nelson Mandela Bridge in Braamfontein is uncharacteristically quiet as the lockdown begins.

In 1965, when US soul musician Wilson Pickett wrote the lyrics "I'm gonna wait 'till the midnight hour, When there's no one else around", he couldn't have imagined what would happen at midnight 55 years later when entire countries went into lockdown amid a worldwide public health crisis.

Hobie Beach in Port Elizabeth which is normally crowded with happy people, was deserted.
Image: Euegene Coetzee Hobie Beach in Port Elizabeth which is normally crowded with happy people, was deserted.

Normally busy streets across SA were empty when midnight tolled on Thursday, and they still echoed to the sound of silence when dawn broke on the three-week Covid-19 lockdown on Friday.

Not a soul in sight at Cape Town's Bo-Kaap as lockdown began at midnight.
Image: Esa Alexander Not a soul in sight at Cape Town's Bo-Kaap as lockdown began at midnight.
The streets of Bloemfontein were deserted shortly after midnight as the 21 day lockdown began.
Image: Sebabatso Mosamo The streets of Bloemfontein were deserted shortly after midnight as the 21 day lockdown began.
A man walks past a building in Cape Town covered with a poster aimed at limiting the spread of Covid-19.
Image: Reuters A man walks past a building in Cape Town covered with a poster aimed at limiting the spread of Covid-19.
The normally busy Long Street in Cape Town, known for its nightclubs and restaurants, pictured here at midnight when the lockdown began.
Image: Esa Alexander The normally busy Long Street in Cape Town, known for its nightclubs and restaurants, pictured here at midnight when the lockdown began.

Sunday Times photographers were there to experience the great shutdown.

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