Alcohol ban remains as lockdown level 3 extended: Cyril Ramaphosa

The country will remain on lockdown level 3, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday night.

Ramaphosa was addressing the nation after a spike in Covid-19 cases since January 1.

He said that nearly 190,000 new infections had been recorded since the start of the year, along with 4,600 Covid-19 related deaths in the same period. Ramaphosa described Covid-19 as a “grave and persistent, deepening crisis” — and said the nation must united to face the challenge.

Ramaphosa announced that the national curfew will now start at 9pm and end at 5am.

And, he said, the “sale of alcohol from retail outlets and the on-site consumption of alcohol is still not permitted”. This, he said, was to ease pressure on the country's health-care system — particularly for trauma cases.

The president also announced that the country's 20 land borders would be closed until February 15, apart from some exceptions, including the movement of cargo and fuel, urgent medical attention, or the return home of South African nationals.

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