South African government on Sunday re-imposed a nationwide curfew, as well as a ban on the sale of alcohol as the number of coronavirus cases in the country, exceeds a quarter of a million and the health system risked being overwhelmed, reported BBC.
In a public address, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the decisions to re-impose curfew and ban alcohol were taken to help the country to weather the storm of coronavirus that is turning out “far fiercer and more destructive than any we have known before”.
He announced that a state of emergency would be extended until 15 August and that the night-time ban would be in place from 9 pm and 4 am local time. The curfew mandates that people must not be on the roads between 9 pm and 4 am local time effective Monday. The wearing of masks outdoors has also now been made compulsory.
The South African president said the alcohol ban would take the pressure off the national healthcare system. Notably, hospitals have experienced a rapid increase in admissions in their trauma and emergency wards since the sale and distribution of alcohol were reintroduced in the country in June. The booze ban was previously implemented in March and lifted on June 1.
“As we head towards the peak of infections, it is vital that we do not burden our clinics and hospitals with alcohol-related injuries,” Ramaphosa said.
The new measures were announced as new coronavirus infections have topped 12,000 per day in South Africa in recent days, making it the fourth-biggest contributor to new worldwide cases after the United States, Brazil and India.
Ramaphosa said South Africa accounts for 40 percent of all the confirmed cases in Africa with 276,242 – an increase of 12,058 in one day. It has recorded 4,079 deaths, 25 percent of which have been in the past week.
