Since she lost her job as a cleaner at a local crèche  because of lockdown, Jeanette Rossouw’s family of five has been surviving on her son’s disability grant and grandchild’s support grant, just more than R2,000 a month.

The 50-year-old grandmother from Montagu is one of thousands of people who have lost their jobs in the Western Cape farming town, which is relies heavily on tourism.

“Within the first week of lockdown we had already run out of food as we lost income immediately. We pay rent of about R900 a month, so technically we survive on about R1,000 a month. Both my husband and I lost our jobs after the announcement of the lockdown. It was the saddest day for our family,” she told Times Select...