Unemployed Western Cape musicians pay tribute to Somerset Hospital staff

A group of South African musical theatre performers has arrived at Somerset Hospital in Cape Town to pay tribute to hospital staff.

They form part of artists who are still unemployed after six months of lockdown.

Spokesperson, Matthew Counihan, says they’ll visit hospitals in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town over the next few weeks as part of the Hope-Tober Campaign.

“We have arrived at the most incredible reception at Somerset hospital in Green Point to the nursing staff and all the healthcare workers at this beautiful establishment. With the streets in gold and white, we are bowed over by the reception, today it’s not about us it’s about acknowledging the brave out there.”

In the video below, SA music industry in dire need of lifeline amid lockdown: 

Meanwhile, Statistics South Africa reported on Tuesday that the expanded definition of the unemployment rate – which includes people who have stopped looking for a work – increased by 2.3 percentage points to 42% in the second quarter compared to the first quarter of 2020.

However, the official unemployment rate decreased to 23.3% in the second quarter from 30.1% in the first quarter of the year.

Stats SA has indicated that the slowdown resulted from people not being able to go and look for work or be economically active during the lockdown.