The reintroduction of a ban on the sale of alcohol in order to help curb the spread of coronavirus has divided South Africans. President Cyril Ramaphosa said the ban, the second this year, would take pressure off the health system.
While some backed him, others said he was blaming citizens for his government’s failures. When it comes to coronavirus, South Africa is the hardest-hit country in Africa with more than 275,000 cases.
Deaths resulting from Covid-19 have also risen to more than 4,000, and government projections estimate this could increase to 50,000 by the end of the year.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, said the government was using the alcohol ban as a scapegoat for its failure to provide adequate health care.
Julius Malema, the leader of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters, tweeted that the president had failed to heed his warning not to lift the alcohol ban first imposed in March. He added that Mr. Ramaphosa should also close schools which resumed last month after several weeks.
On Twitter, people are using the hashtag #AlcoholHasFallen to express their support or displeasure for the president, who announced the renewed alcohol ban on Sunday night. Some South Africans pondered how the ban could affect the economy.
One woman highlighted how people involved in the hospitality industry would be losing work.
“After almost two years of not working, my sister finally found a job, sadly her job ended last night,” she tweeted.
It remains quite amusing for some who have joked that South Africans should get their home brew kits out again after there was a reported rise in homemade pineapple-based alcohol during the last ban.
South Africa reinstates ban on alcohol sale
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says the country will immediately return to a ban on the sale of alcohol to reduce the volume of trauma patients in order for hospitals to have more beds open to treat COVID-19 patients.
Confronted by surging hospitalizations due to the coronavirus, South Africa is also reinstating a night curfew to reduce traffic accidents and made it mandatory for all residents to wear face masks when in public.
Ramaphosa said, in a nationally televised address on Sunday night, that top health officials warn of impending shortages of hospital beds and medical oxygen as South Africa reaches a peak of COVID-19 cases, expected between the end of July and September. He said some hospitals have had to turn away patients because all their beds are full.
South Africa’s rapid increase in reported cases has made it one of the world’s centers for COVID-19, as it is ranked as the 9th country most affected by the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University. The country has reported increases of more than 10,000 confirmed cases for several days and the latest daily increase was nearly 13,500. South Africa accounts for 40 per cent of all the confirmed cases in Africa, with 276,242, an increase of 12,058 in one day.
