Booze sales for off-site consumption banned as Ramaphosa confirms adjusted regulations
South Africa’s lockdown alert will remain at level one but there
will be adjustments to regulations effective from Friday, 2 April.
With the Easter Holidays over the horizon, President Cyril Ramaphosa said it was necessary to make key changes to limit community interaction and to contain the spread of COVID-19.
- The country’s curfew will remain from midnight to 4 am.
- The sale of alcohol for offsite consumption is banned from Friday to Monday, however onsite sale will be permitted according to normal licence provisions.
- Public spaces like beaches, parks and dams will remain open.
- Funerals remain restricted to 100 with a two-hour limit on services.
- Interprovincial travel is permitted.
- Religious gatherings are limited to 250 indoors and 500 outdoors.
“This pandemic is still very much with us. We must act with caution, not just this coming weekend but in the days, weeks and months ahead,” Ramaphosa said.
“We continue to urge all South Africans to avoid gatherings if they are in a vulnerable group, such as the elderly and those with co-morbidities. We also urge that gatherings should take place in outdoor venues, which are significantly safer than gathering indoors,” he added.
Meanwhile Ramaphosa also shed light on South Africa’s ongoing coronavirus vaccine rollout.
South Africa has vaccinated over 239 000 health workers so far and Ramaphosa highlighted the need for the country’s campaign to gain momentum in the coming months. He said government’s plan was to ensure more than 40 million people receive the jab this year.
“We have secured 11 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which we know to be effective against the dominant variants in our country. We have secured a further 20 million doses and are finalising the agreement with Johnson & Johnson. We are also an agreement for 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which requires two doses,” Ramaphosa said.
Listen to the full speech below:
