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- Despite President Cyril Ramaphosa’s warnings on Monday night, Durban’s beach was crowded on Tuesday.
- For the second day in a row, News24 did not observe social distancing, mask use or disinfection by bathers.
- Ramaphosa announced that it would close the beaches of Durban on the seven busiest days to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Despite a stern warning from President Cyril Ramaphosa, tourists flocked to Durban’s beach a day after his address to the nation with no masks, social distancing or regular disinfection in sight.
News24 visited Wedge Beach on Durban’s Golden Mile, where, for the second day in a row, bathers visited and continued their activities as usual despite a second wave of Covid-19 infections in South Africa.
Families could be seen swimming, cycling and generally enjoying the traditional festive nature of the coveted beachfront area.
While there was great security, there was little enforcement of Covid-19 regulations.
READ | All new rules for December: beaches closed, alcohol restrictions, curfews
Ramaphosa announced Monday night that all beaches in the Eastern Cape, as well as the Garden Route in the Western Cape, would be closed from December 16 to January 3, 2021.
The KwaZulu-Natal beaches, however, will only be closed on the busiest days of the season, namely December 16, 25, 26 and 31, as well as January 1-3.
He said meetings, “especially social gatherings and parties, are the biggest source of breakouts.”
News24 reported that it said that in many of those gatherings, no social distancing was observed, crowded venues were not adequately ventilated, there was no hand sanitizer available, and people were not wearing masks.
Ramaphosa also lamented that many people consume alcoholic beverages at “super spreader events, with the result that people become less careful about taking steps to protect themselves and prevent infection.”
He said current restrictions on the size of gatherings weren’t doing enough and even restricted religious gatherings to no more than 100 people for indoor events and 250 for outdoor events.
