Government warns bars and taverns as Covid-19 cases surge in parts of South Africa
Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has warned that urgent action needs to be taken in districts where fresh surges of Covid-19 infection are happening – particularly in the Eastern Cape.
The minister was in the province on Tuesday, to assist with an intervention strategy in hotspot areas.
The government noted that 1,245 new cases have been registered in the last 24 hours in South Africa, down from 1,842 on Sunday, pushing the number of detected Covid-19 cases to 752,269.
The Eastern Cape has the highest number of active cases at 8,607, followed by Free State 8,540, Western Cape 5,884, KwaZulu-Natal 5,174 and Northern Cape 3,711.
The province has for the past few weeks experienced surges in positive Covid-19 cases in a number of districts and sub-districts – contributing to a 50% spike in week-to-week numbers. The majority of infections have emerged from the Nelson Mandela Bay metro municipality.
As at 16 November 2020, there were 4,324 active cases in the city, with 837 new infections recorded on Saturday, 14 November 2020, and 437 new cases recorded on Sunday, 15 November 2020.
Hotspot areas include Motherwell, KwaZakhele and New Brighton, with concerns raised about infection levels in Chatty, Walmer and Central, which are fast becoming hotspot areas too.
“Covid-19 cases are growing in these areas at an alarming rate,” said acting mayor Thsonono Buyeye.
Dr Mkhize said on Tuesday that he is working with the province to draw up a plan of action to push back against the surge in infections, which includes:
- Moving the Cuban doctors and getting support from Doctors Without Borders to reinforce where doctors are needed in the province;
- Increasing testing capacity and turnaround time;
- Ensuring staff have access to PPEs;
- Helping staff avoid exhaustion and ensure they have mental support;
- Promoting social change, and ensuring Covid-19 regulations are adhered to.
The final point is most pressing, the minister said, noting that he was shown pictures of taverns, street parties and festivals where Covid-19 regulations were not being adhered to.
In these instances, there were a large number of people in a confined area – all of whom were not wearing masks or practicing social distancing. Mkhize said businesses organisations that are not complying with Covid-19 prevention protocols should be closed down or fined.
Alcohol problem
Mayor Buyeye also took aim at bars and taverns, saying that the liquor trading sector has been identified as the biggest contributor to the increasing numbers in Nelson Mandela Bay.
He said the city will embark on a training and workshop campaign with tavern owners to educate and train them on how to adhere to the regulations.
The mayor previously warned that the city would engage with the government to reintroduce stricter lockdown measures to assist in keeping infections at bay. The city has already proposed that curfew be tightened, to start at 22h00 instead of midnight.
The question of alcohol abuse will come into focus as the festive season approaches.
Government has been quick to remind South Africans about a possible surge of Covid-19 during the festive season. President Ramaphosa specifically drew attention to movement between provinces, increased social gatherings, and social drinking.
In an interview with 702, Mkhize warned over complacency going into the festive season.
“Right now, our biggest concern is the festive season. People want to go out and enjoy themselves without adhering to containment measures.”
He sent a strong message that the country is not out of the woods yet, as government works around the clock to avoid resurgence.
He once again told the people that the major weapon against the deadly virus is the ability to prevent the spread and cluster outbreaks.
“Therefore, washing of hands, use of sanitisers and social distancing become very important. For now, we have no vaccine. So we need to adhere to containment measures.”
Professor Salim Abdool Karim of the Covid-19 Ministerial Advisory Committee, has warned against ‘pandemic fatigue’. He said that this fatigue, combined with increased movement, drinking and partying during the December holidays is cause for concern.
“We are heading into a December period which carries quite a lot of risk. We have hope that we can get through it by just ensuring that we become more vigilant and control the prospects of super-spreader events.
“If we can do that, then we can get through December with just a little spike. Because if we don’t then we are looking at a prospect of a second surge.”
Alcohol ban
Dr Mkhize said in a briefing on Sunday evening (15 November), that government was forced to analyse the impact of alcohol on the country’s healthcare sector during the initial lockdown.
The sale of alcohol was banned so as to free up hospital beds, and to make it easier for health workers to focus on Covid-19 related cases.
The health minister noted the difficulties around banning alcohol in a democratic country – pointing out that the government needed scientific proof in court to enforce the ban previously.
“Our approach would be, we don’t have yet, the basis on which to do the same restrictions that we have done before. “We will play it by ear.”
“Whenever the situation might arise that will require certain restrictions, government will not hesitate to bring those. We are not at that level,” he said.
Mkhize said that a national conversation needs to take place around the access of alcohol and all the negative outcomes of alcohol abuse.
Police minister Bheki Cele, meanwhile, said that while the country cannot ban alcohol permanently, the government needed to intervene and change laws to ensure that alcohol abuse is addressed.
“We believe that better usage of alcohol will result in a safer South Africa – especially in terms of murder and gender based violence. I want (critics) to know, that while alcohol isn’t the only factor, it is one of the biggest involved with these negative things.
“We can’t ban alcohol – but there needs to be better usage of it. You can’t have a shebeen that closes at 04h00 in the morning. We need laws to help us with this one,” he said.
The warnings come after president Ramaphosa recently announced that lockdown restrictions would be eased further, enabling retailers, restaurants and other venues to sell alcohol at their licenced times.
Damage done
Despite the risks and warnings, the wider alcohol industry has welcomed the go-ahead to sell alcohol at full capacity – particularly ahead of the festive season.
On Monday (16 November) Shoprite Holdings published an operational update for the quarter ending September 2020, being the latest retailer to detail how lockdown and the restriction on the sale of alcohol impacted its business.
While the group saw an improvement in sales across its supermarkets – including Shoprite, Checkers and Usave – it said that its LiquorShop business was severely impacted as it was forced to remain closed for 60 of the 91 days.
Other retailers, including Makro, Pick n Pay and Spar – as well as the entire restaurant industry – have reported poor alcohol sales as a result of lockdown.
“It is pleasing to report that from last week, the South African nationwide lockdown regulations pertaining to the restriction of off-consumption liquor trade were lifted,” Shoprite said.
“The result of this is that our sizable retail LiquorShop business, previously restricted from trading over weekends and mid-week after 17h00, is now able to trade seven days a week.
“This is a meaningful change for the group and comes at a significant time as we begin our important festive season period.”
Read: How Covid-19 has shifted in South Africa over the last two weeks: Mkhize
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