Booze ban during lockdown has Mzansi asking Google how to make alcohol

Searches on Google SA for "alcohol ban South Africa" spiked 500% over the past week as SA’s lockdown entered its second week.

High levels of search interest were also seen for the terms "how to get alcohol" and "homemade alcohol", said Google.

The Free State, North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo all showed high levels of interest in the term "homemade alcohol".

The Northern Cape, on the other hand, showed very low levels of interest in all of these terms.

Related search queries included:

• "how to make your own alcohol";
• "where to get alcohol during lockdown";
• "homemade alcohol";
• "how long does it take to get fit"; and
• "how to make alcohol at home".

Search terms related to homemade alcohol  included:

• "homemade beer recipes South Africa";
• "homemade gin";
• "homemade alcoholic pineapple beer"; and
• "how to make alcohol at home fast".

The searches by "thirsty" South Africans come as police minister Bheki Cele is leading the charge for an alcohol-free country, claiming the ban is bringing down incidents of crime.

Under the Covid-19 lockdown regulations, no alcohol may be sold for the 21 days of lockdown.