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The South African Restaurant Association (Rasa) says it will have more commitments to President Cyril Ramaphosa on the country’s new lockdown measures, after some of the new restrictions caught him off guard, including a new curfew.
In a speech on Monday night (December 14), Ramaphosa announced that South Africa’s national curfew will run from 23:00 to 04:00.
This means that non-essential establishments, such as restaurants, will need to close at 10pm so that staff and customers can go home before curfew. The curfew will go into effect on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
Rasa’s Wendy Alberts told eNCA that the restaurant industry was somewhat surprised by the announcement, as it had asked the government to reduce the curfew in the interests of businesses.
He added that restaurants expected to be busier during the holiday season and that a reduced curfew “will have taken some pressure off.”
Alberts said the curfew also has implications for restaurants being cleaned properly and staff getting home on time.
Ramaphosa announced that more national restrictions will be reintroduced from 0001 on Tuesday.
These restrictions will be reviewed in early January based on the status of the country’s coronavirus cases, he said.
The new restrictions include:
- Tighter enforcement of existing level 1 lockdown restrictions – This includes people in public buildings and public transportation wearing masks.
- Meetings – Meetings will be even more restricted to 100 people for indoor events and 250 for outdoor events. The total number of people in a place cannot exceed 50% of the capacity of the place.
- Funeral – All post-funeral gatherings are prohibited across the country.
- Beaches – Ramaphosa said that a differentiated approach will be used for the country’s beaches and public parks. In areas with high coronavirus cases, beaches and parks will be closed from December 16 to January 3; this will apply to the entire Eastern Cape and Garden Route. The beaches will also be closed in KZN on days that are considered particularly busy. These include December 16, December 26, December 31, January 1, January 2, and January 3. The beaches and public parks in the Western Cape and Northern Cape will remain open for now.
- Night – South Africa’s national curfew will be extended: from 23:00 to 04:00. This means that non-essential establishments, such as restaurants, will need to close at 10pm so that staff and customers can go home before curfew. The curfew is in full effect on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve.
- Alcohol – The sale of alcohol will only be allowed from 10:00 to 18:00 from Monday to Thursday at the points of sale. Wine farms may remain open and sell alcohol for off-site consumption based on their license hours.
Read: Ramaphosa Announces New Lockdown Restrictions For South Africa Including Beach Closures, Curfew And Alcohol Sales
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