President Ramaphosa Institutes Temporary Alcohol Ban Over Easter
- President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the Easter weekend would have a number of special measure in place
- Alcohol sales would be temporarily banned over the weekend but on-site sales in restaurants and shebeens would be allowed until 23:00
- Ramaphosa announced a number of other measures relating to funerals, travel and religious gatherings
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President Cyril Ramaphosa has addressed the nation in another family meeting. The nation was eagerly anticipating what Ramaphosa would have to say about the Easter period. Ramaphosa announced a temporary ban on alcohol sales over the Easter weekend.
Ramaphosa said that the nation is not ready to relax its Covid-19 restrictions over the Easter period. However, the president did have some good news, the country was winning the war against Covid-19 with new infections and deaths continuing to decline and recoveries increasing.
Ramaphosa announced that the government has consulted many sectors of the country in regards to the Easter weekend.
Source: Twitter
Easter Weekend
He announced that the country will remain on level one. The curfew will remain the same, beaches, parks and dams will remain open under Covid-19 protocols which include social distancing and mask-wearing.
Alcohol
A temporary ban on alcohol sales will come into effect over the Easter weekend. the sale of alcohol for off-site consumption will be prohibited from Friday to Monday. On-site sales will be allowed in restaurants and shebeens until 23:00.
Religious gatherings
Religious gatherings are restricted to 250 people indoors and 500 outdoors. Smaller venues cannot exceed 50% of their capacity. This is an increase in current numbers. This will be reviewed in 15 days.
Ramaphosa revealed that more doses of the vaccine have been completed.
Funerals and interprovincial travel
Funerals would remain restricted to a maximum of 100 people and may only last two hours. Interprovincial travel will be permitted.
Vaccine Rollout
He reported that the vaccination process is on track and the first stage, the vaccination of frontline workers, will be completed in three months.
Ramaphosa revealed that more doses of the vaccine have been completed.
The secured vaccines will allow the country to vaccinate 40 million people, the agreement for these vaccines are all but completed with the final paperwork being completed.
Ramaphosa also listed a number of new vaccines which will be acquired to further help with the roll-out.
The demand for vaccines globally has become very competitive which has affected the ability for the government to acquire vaccines easily.
Ramaphosa assured that the government will be able to vaccinate enough people to reach herd immunity.
Phase Two
The second phase is aimed at protecting communities and the healthcare system and reduce the impact of lockdowns on the people of the country.
The registration system will soon go online and for those without access to the internet, provisions will be made for them.
Vaccination points will be set up across the country and will utilise sports fields and stadiums.
The new vaccine system will allow registrations and will produce a digital vaccination certificate. In order to receive a vaccination people need to be registered on the system.
Ramaphosa assured the country that the process will be transparent to provide reassurance to the country.
Vaccine Production
The president reported on his visit to the Aspen manufacturing plant in the Eastern Cape which would produce Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The plant will produce more than 200 million doses for the African continent.
Vodacom will be developing a vaccine rollout platform for the African continent.
Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the Aspen Pharmacare manufacturing facility in Gqeberha. The facility will reportedly produce around 30 million vaccine doses for South Africa next month with roll-out expected in the same month.
Ramaphosa also said that Johnson & Johnson committed to the aforementioned 30 million vaccines for South Africa out of 220 million that will be exported across the continent. Ramaphosa along with Deputy President David Mabuza and others visited the facility to evaluate the vaccine production.
Aspen has collaborated with J&J to find the volume required for the manufacturing of the Covid-19 vaccine in Gqeberha. Reports say that the facility has technologically advanced equipment that can be used to manufacture vaccines and others.
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Source: Briefly News
