JOHANNESBURG (AP) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has re-imposed a ban on alcohol sales and ordered the closure of all bars on Monday as part of new restrictions to help the country fight the revival of coronavirus, including a new variant.
Ramaphosa also announced the closure of all public beaches and swimming pools in the country’s hot spots, which include Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and several coastal areas. In addition, South Africa is extending its night time by four hours, requiring all residents to be home from 9pm to 6am, the president said.
“Reckless behavior due to alcohol intoxication has contributed to increased transmission. Alcohol-related accidents and violence put pressure on our hospital emergency units, ”Ramaphosa said in a nationwide address.
“As we had to do in the early days of the blockade, we now need to flatten the curve to protect the capacity of our health care system to enable it to respond effectively to this new wave of infections,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the ban on selling alcohol and other new restrictions will take effect at midnight. These include the compulsory wearing of masks in public, and anyone found without wearing a mask in a public place will be subject to a fine or criminal charge punishable by a possible prison sentence, the president said.
Ramaphosa said increased restrictions are needed because of the increase in COVID-19 infections that have pushed the total number of confirmed virus cases in South Africa to over 1 million.
“It is known that almost 27,000 South Africans died because of COVID-19. The number of new coronavirus infections is growing at an unprecedented rate, “he said. “More than 50,000 new cases have been reported since Christmas Eve.”
Ramaphosa announced the new measures after a cabinet meeting and an emergency meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Board. He said the new restrictions would be reviewed in a few weeks and a relaxation would only be considered when the number of new cases and hospitalizations decreased.
The country exceeded the 1 million mark in confirmed virus cases on Sunday night, when authorities reported that the total number of cases in the country during the pandemic reached 1,004,413, including 26,735 deaths.
Like the United Kingdom, South Africa is struggling with a variant of COVID-19 that medical experts consider more infectious than the original. The variant has become dominant in many parts of the country, according to experts.
The South African Medical Association, which represents nurses and other health workers, as well as doctors, warned on Monday that the health system is on the verge of being overwhelmed by the combination of more COVID-19 patients and people in need of urgent care from alcohol- related incidents. Many holiday gatherings involve a high level of alcohol consumption, which in turn often leads to increased trauma.
“To alleviate the pressure on the system at this time of year, when we only have skeletal employees working, especially in the public as well as the private sector, we are calling for stricter restrictions on social gatherings,” said Angelique Coetzee. , the president of the medical association told the Associated Press.
“South Africa has a history of very high alcohol abuse and excessive alcohol consumption, especially on weekends. In some areas, it leads to a lot of cases of trauma, assault, car accidents and domestic violence, “she said.
The medical association called on the government to impose stricter restrictions on the sale of alcohol, especially in large gatherings.
When South Africa previously banned alcohol sales, hospital trauma fell by as much as 60 percent, according to government statistics. When the ban on the sale of alcohol was lifted, trauma returned to previous levels.
Amid a resurgence of COVID-19 in early December, South Africa limited alcohol sales from Monday to Thursday from 10:00 to 18:00. The country also has a night time between 23:00 and 04:00.
Various alcohol traders have pleaded with the government to avoid a total ban on alcohol sales, citing the economic damage it would cause. The alcohol industry in South Africa was one of the hardest hit when the country imposed a strong blockade in April and May, which also banned alcohol sales.
The 7-day continuous average of confirmed cases in South Africa has risen in the past two weeks from 11.18 new cases per 100,000 people on December 13 to 19.87 new cases per 100,000 people on December 27.
The 7-day average of daily deaths in the country has risen in the past two weeks, from 0.26 deaths per 100,000 people on December 13 to 0.49 deaths per 100,000 people on December 27.
Ramaphosa urged people to avoid New Year’s gatherings. Instead, he called on all South Africans to light candles.
“I will light a candle in Cape Town at exactly midnight on New Year’s Eve, in memory of those who lost their lives and in tribute to those on the front line who work to save our lives and protect us from harm. “, he said. “Please join me wherever you are in this very important symbolic gesture.”