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Nelson Mandela Bay Acting Mayor Thsonono Buyeye says national and provincial health authorities are considering a number of restrictions to combat the rise in coronavirus cases in the region, including limitations on how and where alcohol can be sold.
Buyeye said Cape Talk that officials had presented a series of proposed restrictions to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, including:
- Introducing an earlier curfew. South Africa currently has a national curfew between 00:00 and 04:00;
- Other restrictions on public gatherings;
- The temporary suspension of the sale of alcoholic beverages in taverns.
Buyeye did not clarify whether alcohol sales would be affected at restaurants or liquor stores.
Speaking about restrictions around the sale of liquor, Buyeye said that city tavern owners have come up with a proposal to allow ‘take away alcohol sales’ in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus through consumption. in the place.
“It’s about time the owners (of the taverns) started doing things differently by making sure people don’t come to drink at their premises,” he said.
He added that these decisions have yet to be confirmed by the government’s National Coronavirus Command Council, and a decision to be announced later this week.
“We have taken the proposal to the minister (Mkhize). We just need to make sure that we can enforce, as it is difficult to enforce something that is not part of the regulations. “
The coronavirus infection rate has continued to rise in the Eastern Cape for the past four weeks, specifically in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro. On Sunday, 1,400 additional positive cases and 26 deaths were recorded in the province.
Alcohol sales
The sale of alcohol was heavily restricted during the coronavirus lockdown in South Africa, including two bans. The restrictions were seen to mitigate the damaging impact of liquor abuse, necessary to free up needed hospital beds and reduce large gatherings and social events.
While most of the heavy-handed restrictions have since been lifted, certain limits remain in effect.
Sales were initially restricted to weekdays only, with sales banned on weekends and holidays, but President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in early November that normal alcohol sales at all venues could continue within the curfew hours.
Anyone who fails to comply with the regulations can be fined or imprisoned for a period not to exceed six months.
Read: Businesses are likely to support local closures in South Africa, but only if these conditions are met
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