Arthur Greene
Amid rising fears that the upcoming Easter celebrations will lead to a third wave of Covid-19 infections, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Tuesday night.
But instead of the broad changes to lockdown restrictions which many expected, the president announced just one: the off-site consumption of alcohol has been banned over Easter weekend.
Other than this, no other change to restrictions has been announced, and the country will remain in lockdown level 1.
He said, “Given the role of alcohol in fuelling reckless behaviour, we will put in place some restrictions over the Easter weekend. To this end, the sale of alcohol for off-site consumption will be prohibited this coming Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Just those four days.
“On-site sales at restaurants, shebeens and bars will be allowed, but this will be according to licensing conditions and also to the limitations of time, up until 11pm.”
Inter-provincial travel remains permitted, and the current curfew from midnight to 4am remains unchanged.
Beaches, dams and public areas like parks will remain open, even though the government decided to close them over Christmas at the onset of the second wave.
Picture source: @CyrilRamaphosa
