You will not be allowed to drink alcohol at restaurants when they reopen

You can sit down for dinner at your favourite restaurant from Monday, but only if you — and the eatery — follow strict Covid-19 rules and regulations.

But you will not be allowed to buy and drink alcohol while you’re there.

This is according to tourism minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, who was speaking at a press conference on Friday evening.

Answering questions from journalists, Kubayi-Ngubane said: “In terms of alcohol, currently the [lockdown] regulations have not changed. Alcohol continues to be consumed off-site. It's still takeaway. There is no alcohol consumption on site.”

Earlier, the minister outlined the rules and regulations around the reopening of restaurants, coffee shops and other eateries.

They are required to:

• keep a daily record of all employees, delivery agents and patrons;
• screen each employee and delivery person on arrival for shifts and on departing after shifts;
• regularly sanitise the workplace, delivery transport, containers, and follow cleaning procedures;
• provide employees with masks to wear and hand sanitiser;
• ensure that every employee wears the relevant personal protective equipment; and
• ensure that delivery people sanitise before and after handling card or cash payments.
• Also, social distancing must be in place at all times for employees and for patrons.

For sit-down guests, restaurants are required to:

• conduct a screening questionnaire (which will be published with guidelines) and take precautionary measures to protect the person and other people in the premises. Such measures may include denying such a person access to the premises;
• not allow any person into their premises, if that person is not wearing a cloth mask, or homemade item that covers the nose and mouth or another appropriate item to cover the nose and mouth;
• ensure that customers and guests wear masks at all times while they are in their premises except when eating or drinking;
• ensure that all customers are sanitised before entering the premises;
• demarcate in a visible manner a distance of a line at least 1.5m from the point of sale serving counter towards the customer;
• ensure customers queue at least 1.5m apart behind each other or sideways;
• spread seat capacity to enforce distancing of 1.5m between guests; and
• consider a reservation system to manage demand, and help ensure capacity limits are adhered to.

On top of this, buffets may not be offered, and menus must be replaced with non-touch options or sanitised after each guest use. Also, tables must be sanitised before and after each guest use.