Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Containment Regulations on the Homeless People in South Africa

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic had devastating effects globally. No one was spared including the homeless people who had no permanent housing or shelter but had to observe various restriction interventions introduced by the government to curb the spread of the virus. Methodologically, this paper used literature review research approach by sourcing relevant scholarly works in the subject area; reviewed and applied them to showcase and address the plight of the homeless people during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. The overall objective was to establish whether the homeless were offered adequate assistance or not, considering that the pandemic outbreak exacerbated their vulnerability. The paper found that it is the responsibility of the government, especially the local government, to provide protection for this group but did not meet expectations. Hence, the homeless were negatively affected by the virus due to insufficient care. The paper also found that various local governments in South Africa deployed and utilised anti-homeless by-laws to criminalise homelessness and even deprived some of the homeless the right to shelter by either evicting them where they sought refuge or on the land where they built shacks. The paper found that the court was the last hope of this vulnerable group that used judicial pronouncements to protect them from being left destitute.