Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 08:38 am
South Africa lifted its ban on alcohol and cigarette sales on Tuesday as the country eased coronavirus measures to level two.
Cigarette, tobacco and alcohol sales were prohibited to prevent people from sharing cigarettes and to reduce the burden on hospitals to deal with alcohol-related injuries.
South Africa is the continent’s worst affected country by the pandemic with over 580,000 reported cases.
With cases declining, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Saturday restrictions would ease.
It means bars will be allowed to re-open and small family and social visite will be permitted.
But there is still a 10:00 pm curfew and wearing a face mask is compulsory in public areas. International borders will still remain closed and gatherings are still capped at 50 people.
Ramaphosa said. that the number of new daily confirmed cases had dropped from a peak of over 12,000 to an average of 5,000 over the past week.
“As we look back at the past five months, all indications are that South Africa has reached the peak and moved beyond the inflection point of the curve,” Ramaphosa said.
He called on South Africans not to let their guard down or “become complacent” despite “signs of hope”.
The announcements should bring a much-needed boost to South Africa’s ailing economy, which was in recession before the pandemic and is now expected to contract by over six percent.
But South Africa’s main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party said the economy had already been “killed”.
“These restrictions should have been lifted months ago,” DA leader John Steenhuisen said in a statement, calling for urgent economic reforms and for international tourists to be allowed back.
“We are now in the midst of a devastating economic depression, and all that matters now is getting as many South Africans working as we possibly can.”
(AFP)
Trade between African and GCC countries stands at $ 121 billion in 2023, double of what it was in 2016.…
Family members struggling after one week after of Cyclone Chido ripped through the French island territory of Mayotte expressed helplessness…
The United Arab Emirates has launched its orphanage project in Ethiopia's Oromia region on the orders of President Sheikh Mohamed…
In just four months, 100 women have been killed, the majority by males they knew including spouses. Prime Cabinet Secretary…
The Ghanaian entertainment industry is in deep mourning following the sudden death of Bright Owusu, better known as C Confion.…
Since the beginning of December more than five hundred people have lost their lives on the nation's highways. Barbara Creecy,…
This website uses cookies.