JOHANNESBURG – South Africa on the eve of a three-week lockdown announced its coronavirus cases are nearing 1,000, while the president urged police to have compassion as they ensure that most of the country’s 57 million people stay at home. “Our people are terrified right now and we should not do anything to make their situation worse,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said. “Psychologically they are already scared that they could get the virus, lose income, lose jobs, get sick without medication.” Anxiety has been especially high for low-income South Africans squeezed into townships, sometimes with an extended family sharing a shack of corrugated metal and little income.