Shattered By The Stigma

A relative of the Khayelitsha woman thought to have had Covid-19 tells DRUM of the trauma their family has endured due to misinformation

- Lubabalo Jonas

‘After she told her landlord she had tested positive for the coronavirus, she immediately wanted her out of her property’

WHEN they first heard about Covid-19, it was some distant disease that only affected people who had travelled out of the country.

They weren’t worried about it. After all, they hadn’t gone anywhere so they weren’t in any danger.

Then someone was diagnosed with the coronavirus – and suddenly the health situation in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, was very different.

A 25-year-old woman was announced as the first person to be infected in the dense township. She decided to get tested because she’d been battling flu. And even though it’s since been discovered she wasn’t actually positive for Covid-19, the damaging effects of the false diagnosis remain.

Nothing could have prepared the mom of one for what came next, family spokesperson Andiswa Mnqadi* tells us.

She was evicted from her flat, conspiracy theories were thrown around, she and her family were threatened and she had to flee her home. Andiswa says they’re on an emotional rollercoaster after their community turned their backs on them.

The Aids stigma is nothing compared to what they’ve experienced, she says.

The family fears the woman might struggle to find another place to live and they also worry parents will tell their children to shun her daughter. “After she told her landlord she had tested positive for the coronavirus, she immediately wanted her out of her property,” Andiswa says.