Thousands of people stood in line for hours on Saturday in a South African township waiting for handouts of food.

The scene has repeated for days in one of the world’s most unequal countries as charities haul essentials to low-income neighborhoods suffering under coronavirus restrictions.

A five-week lockdown, one of the world’s strictest, eased slightly on Friday, allowing more businesses to resume and giving more hungry people a chance to support themselves and their families.

Social distancing collapsed in parts of the line that wound past battered shopfronts, though some people turned and stretched out their arms, making sure to stay beyond fingertips’ reach.