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- Cape Town Cape Town says not being able to celebrate New Year’s Eve is the least of its worries this holiday season, as the Covid-19 situation could turn much more dire.
- When the curfew begins, people will be required to leave the streets.
- The City will visit at least three alcohol outlets per day in each suburb to lessen the flood of alcohol-related incidents.
Cape Town Cape Town will be keeping a close eye on liquor outlets this holiday season, as alcohol-related traumatic incidents could put an unnecessary burden on city hospitals amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, the City’s Health and Safety and Community Services Directorates held a briefing on the City’s 2020/21 holiday season readiness plan, discussing new implementations that would be taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Cape Town mayco member JP Smith said operational plans will be put in place for big days like New Year’s Eve.
“The South African police services, together with the city services, will put an operational plan in place for each of these great days,” Smith said.
“When the curfew begins, we will demand that people are not in the streets,” he added.
Smith said that, at the moment, the least of his concerns was that people would not be allowed to celebrate New Year’s Eve like before.
In addition to the new plan, the City would visit at least three alcohol outlets a day in each suburb to monitor compliance, in an attempt to lessen the flood of alcohol-related incidents.
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Police visited 69 outlets in October and 85 in November to verify compliance.
This would also ensure that hospitals were not obstructed by alcohol-related trauma.
Beaches, pools
In addressing the accessibility of recreation parks and beaches, Councilor Zahid Badroodien said the public would need to work closely with the parks and recreation department to ensure all regulations are followed.
“The city has about 370 km of coastline and several beaches and ponds throughout the city,” he said.
He said that at all of these locations, facility personnel, lifeguards and ID kits will be available during the holiday season.
Badroodien also stressed that bathers should try to come dressed for the beach to minimize interaction in the changing rooms.
With Covid-19 regulations, pools could only take around 50% of the usual number of customers.
“If you have any symptoms or know of someone who has had Covid-19 in a short space of time, or if you are waiting for test results, please do not come to any of our public facilities,” urged Badroodien.
The City was expected to have more than 600 lifeguards to be placed; 340 of which would be located seasonally on the beaches, while 300 would be located in swimming pools.
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