By STAFF REPORTER
Tavern owners and revellers breathe ‘a sigh of relief’ after President Cyril Ramaphosa relaxed the adjusted lockdown regulations. Ramaphosa announced that the sale of alcohol will be allowed from Monday to Thursday during a ‘family meeting’ address last night.
“We have recorded our lowest daily increase in infections since the beginning of December last year. In fact, the average rate of new infections has been steadily coming down over the last three weeks, indicating that we have now passed the peak of the second wave.
“In the past seven days, the daily average of new infections was around 5,500, compared to just over 10,000 infections in the previous seven days. In other words, the average number of daily new infections has come down to almost half of what it was,” he said.
Ramaphosa further said the number of hospital admissions has also been falling. He said at the peak of the second wave, the country has recorded over 2,300 hospital admissions in a day.
“This had fallen to 295 hospital admissions by the 29th of January. While all the indicators are heading in the right direction, we are still experiencing relatively high rates of transmission.
“We are pleased that across the country, most people are adhering to the restrictions we have had to impose and are diligently observing the basic health measures needed to prevent infection,” said Ramaphosa.
He said they are acutely aware that these restrictions have negatively affected businesses and threatened jobs in the hospitality, tourism, and related industries.
Ramaphosa added that they are determined that such restrictions should not continue any longer than is absolutely necessary to contain the pandemic and minimise the loss of life.
“It is for this reason that we will continue to work with business and labour in these sectors to revive businesses and restore jobs both in the immediate and longer-term. Over the last few days, we have assessed the state of the pandemic.
“We have sought the advice of experts and consulted with representatives of provincial and local government and traditional leaders. With the clear decline in new infections, hospital admissions, and deaths, Cabinet has decided to steadily ease a number of restrictions under adjusted Level 3,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the hours of the curfew will now be from 11pm to 4am and establishments will need to close by 10pm to allow their customers and staff to return home by curfew. He said Faith-based gatherings will be permitted, subject to health protocols.
“Such gatherings may not exceed 50 people for indoor venues and 100 persons for outdoor venues. Where the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with appropriate social distancing, then no more than 50% of the capacity of the venue may be used.
“Public places such as beaches, dams, rivers, parks, and public swimming pools will be reopened subject to health protocols. Restrictions on the sale of alcohol will be eased. The sale of alcohol by licensed premises for off-site consumption will be permitted from Mondays to Thursdays, from 10am to 6pm,” said Ramaphosa.
He said duty-free shops, registered wineries, wine farms, micro-breweries and micro-distilleries will be able to sell alcohol for off-site consumption during their normal licensed operating hours.
Ramaphosa added that these changes have been made possible by the significant reduction in COVID-19 hospital admissions across all provinces, reducing the pressure on beds and hospital personnel. He urged people to drink responsibly so that they do not experience a spike in trauma cases or an increase in infections due to reckless behaviour.
The Guardian 