18, 2020 shows a customer buying alcohol at a liquor shop in
Craighall Park, Johannesburg. Michele Spatari / AFP
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday announced a new ban
on alcohol sales and said mask-wearing will be mandatory in public
after South Africa became the continent’s first to record one
million coronavirus cases.
Ramaphosa justified a raft of new measures by a “rapid rise” in
infections, most by a new strain of the virus feared to be more
contagious.
He pointed the finger at “super-spreader” social events and an
“extreme lack of vigilance over the holiday period”.
“We have let down our guard, and unfortunately we are now paying
the price,” the president said during a solemn televised
speech.
Africa’s worst-hit country previously banned alcohol sales in
March when it was b attling its first wave of infections.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
Ramaphosa said data showed that “excessive alcohol consumption”
leads to an increase in trauma cases reported at hospitals.
Such admissions put “an unnecessary strain on our already
stretched public health facilities,” he said, announcing that the
new ban would start from midnight.
He said that more than 41,000 health workers have contracted
Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.
The country’s curfew will now start at 9 pm — from 11 pm
previously — while non-essential establishments such as shops, bars
and restaurants will close from 8 pm.
READ ALSO: Israel Enters Third Nationwide
Lockdown
All large gatherings — inside or outside — will be prohibited
for the next two weeks, except for funerals which will be limited
to 50 people.
South Africa passed one million recorded coronavirus cases on
Sunday, while it has registered nearly 27,000 deaths.
“Unless we act now and unless we act decisively, the number of
new infections will far exceed what we experienced during the first
wave and thousands more people will lose their lives,” Ramaphosa
said.
AFP