‘Buvuliwe! I’m drinking Oros for the last time’ - SA reacts to lifting of booze ban

The lifting of the ban on alcohol sales has been met with positive responses and is dominating conversations on social media following the announcement during a national address by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday evening.

Ramaphosa, who said SA will move to lockdown alert level 3 from Monday, said the decision to lift the ban was informed by a decrease in daily Covid-19 infections in most provinces except in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. He said there is a notable surge in the Northern Cape after “a period of relative stability”.

“The latest figures suggest we have largely passed the peak of the third wave of infections, though there are areas in the country where we need to be concerned because the rates of infection have not shown signs of decline,” said Ramaphosa.

Licensed establishments will be permitted to sell alcohol between Monday and Thursday.

“The sale of alcohol from retail outlets for off-site consumption will be permitted between 10am and 6pm from Monday to Thursday. Alcohol sales for on-site consumption will be permitted as per licence conditions up to 8pm,” said the president. 

SA has been under alert level 4 for a month.

On Saturday TimesLIVE reported the Tourism Business Council of SA (TBCSA) called on the president to lift the ban as it had seen significant financial losses in the last month. 

“Airlines have grounded their fleets, B&Bs are closed, some branches of car rental companies are closed, and entrepreneurs in township and rural tourism are on their knees. Continuation of current restrictions will result in major job losses and increase the unemployment rate,” the council said at the weekend.

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