JOHANNESBURG (PA) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has re-imposed a ban on alcohol sales and ordered the closure of all bars as part of new restrictions to help the country fight the revival of coronavirus, including a new variant.
In a national address on Monday evening, 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.
South Africa will extend the weather at night, so all residents must be home from 9pm to 6pm, the president said.
The president said that wearing masks is mandatory and that anyone who does not find a mask in a public place will be subject to a fine or a criminal charge punishable by a possible prison sentence.
THIS IS A NEWS UPDATE. The previous story of the AP follows, below.
JOHANNESBURG (PA) – With a new rise pushing South Africa’s cumulative virus cases to over 1 million, the country’s doctors are urging the government to return to stricter restrictions on social gatherings and alcohol sales to slow the spread of the disease.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held an emergency meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council and announced that he would speak to the nation on Monday night.
The country exceeded the 1 million mark on Sunday night, when it reported 1,004,413 cumulative cases of COVID-19, including 26,735 deaths.
South Africa is battling a variant of COVID-19, which is more infectious and has become dominant in many parts of the country, according to experts.
The South African Medical Association, which represents doctors, nurses and medical staff in the country, warned on Monday that the health system is on the verge of being overwhelmed by the combination of more people with COVID-19 and people with need urgent care due to related incidents. Many festive gatherings during the holidays 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 organization called on the government to impose stricter restrictions on the sale of alcohol, especially in large gatherings.
When South Africa completely banned the sale of alcoholic beverages, hospital trauma cases dropped by up to 60%, according to the government? statistics. When the ban on the sale of alcohol was lifted, trauma returned to previous levels.
Seeing a recurrence of the disease 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 hard blockade in April and May, banning all sales of alcoholic beverages.
The 7-day continuous average of new 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.