Levels of adherence to covid-19 regulations and protocols by community members during lockdown alert 3 in the Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Community members are responsible for their safety during the surge of COVOD-19. Government gives its support, regulations and protocols to all its citizens. This is an observational and experiential research paper based on the behaviour of community members during different South African COVOD-19 lockdown stages. The researchers observed the behaviour of community members regarding their adherence to government protocols of wearing face masks, social distancing and hand sanitising. The aim of the paper was to observe compliance of community members to  government’s COVID-19 protocols or regulations in shopping complexes and malls around Limpopo Province. Research design of the paper was qualitative, where data was collected through observations and informal interviews. Observations and informal interviews were conducted in five shopping complexes around the province of Limpopo in the Capricorn and Vhembe Districts. Data was analysed through thematic coding. Evidence shows that the behaviour of community members is acceptable, as they observe protocols and regulations of COVID-19 for most of the time except on month ends. On month ends people’s behaviour changed as community members hardly observed COVID-19 protocols and regulations.  Government should enforce shopping complex and mall managers to deploy security personnel not only on entrances, but also inside the premises so that all community members adhere to protocols.

Key Words: hand sanitisers, face masks, social distancing, lockdown, COVID-19, compliance