. On most weekends, the centre of Gatesville in Cape Town would be bustling with crowds of people shopping for everything from fresh produce and homemade mango atchar (mango pickle) to religious clothing, and even face creams. But since the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown started in March 2020, few people come to a street which used to overflow with footsteps and chatter. And the informal traders are left without shoppers. “Business really dropped a lot,” says Sharifa Cloete, who has been trading fruit and vegetables for over 30 years on what she calls the “Gatesville-Rylands” market, as the market stretches into both suburbs. On a busy day, she says, she would make up to R8,000. Now she is grateful to make R2,000.