Covid-19 forces South Africans to cool heels indoors on Christmas Day
Tuesday December 22 2020
Police officers enforce Covid-19 containment measures in South Africa. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
A massive surge in coronavirus cases that marked a second wave of Covid-19 prompted South African government to re-impose tighter lockdown measures, even though the country remains on Level One of the restrictions.
A nationwide curfew running between 11pm and 4am was reinstated, in what could render the traditional ushering of the New Year a bizarre event.
Beaches that draw large crowds in some coastal cities have been totally shut down, while alcohol sale hours are now limited.
Public gatherings are also now limited while the consumption of alcohol at beaches and public parks is prohibited, and violation of such impositions attracts a three-month jail sentence.
The most affected areas could be townships where the festive mood is usually over the top.
“If we do not do things differently this festive season, we will greet the New Year not with joy, but with sorrow. Unless we do things differently, this will be the last Christmas for many, many South Africans,” President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Monday.
South Africa is now recording a daily average of 7,000 new coronavirus cases per day after having dropped to an average of 1,000 between August and November.
The spike in infections is led by the country’s four main provinces Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
When South Africa was first placed under lockdown in March, the country was experiencing an average of 100 daily cases and harsher measures, than current ones, were introduced.
Now with way too many high numbers and having improved to 18th on global infection standings from an all-time low of fifth, there are, however, lesser restrictions.
When implementing the latest stricter measures, the National Coronavirus Command Council — an advisory body to the presidency on the pandemic — considered the economic impact of these measures on a country whose economy is still bleeding and far from recovering from the effects of prior lockdown levels.
Economic activities that had been banned between March and September such as the sale of alcohol and cigarettes are still permitted as they attract much spending.
Coronavirus hotspots have been identified in the Eastern Cape districts of Nelson Mandela Bay, Sarah Baartman and the Western Cape’s Garden Route.
Beaches in those areas which usually attract foreign visitors especially between November and February have been totally closed and it would be highly strange to see those commonly frequented places empty during this festive period. Under the festive season stringent measures, traditional beach festivals are now prohibited from December 16, 2020 to January 3, 2021.
But KwaZulu-Natal beaches, popular for overcrowding, remain open and will, however, only be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, December 31 and New Year’s Day when a large turnout of revellers is usually recorded.
This has seen opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, objecting what they feel is a selective application of restrictions.
“The Democratic Alliance has sent a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa and National Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, in which we request that they justify the grounds upon which National Government took the decision to close the beaches in the Garden Route District for the entirety of the festive season,” the party said.
“The provincial government has submitted various hotspot containment plans demonstrating that the Western Cape is adequately capacitated to manage the seasonal influx of tourists who visit our province for its beach tourism.
“Furthermore, the DA and our governments across the Western Cape’s coastal municipalities have fought vehemently against any closure of beaches over the festive season.
“Such a regulation will also be the final nail in the coffin for the Garden Route’s coastal economies which are nearing total collapse. It is also our view that national government has not been fair and consistent in its imposition of this regulation across the country.
“Infection rates between the Garden Route and KwaZulu-Natal, for example, are not dissimilar. Yet while beach closures in KwaZulu-Natal are limited to but a few days, the Garden Route has had a blanket restriction imposed unjustly for the entire festive season.
“There is no justifiable reason for beach closures anywhere in the Western Cape, and National Government’s decision to close the Garden Route’s beaches over the festive season is thus dangerously irrational.”