South Africa will ban the sale of alcohol and control the size of religious and social gatherings over Easter to prevent the holiday from contributing to a new surge of COVID-19.
Johannesburg(AP), South Africa will ban the sale of alcohol on Easter to prevent the spread of Covid-19 as well as limit the number of people gathering for religious and social ceremonies. President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, "Keeping in mind the irresponsible behaviour by drinking alcohol, we will impose some restrictions on the Easter weekend." He said there would be a ban on the retail sale of alcohol. Alcoholic beverages will be able to be sold in bars and restaurants but will be closed at 11 pm.
He said that there would be a ban on the retail sale of liquor Friday through Monday. Alcoholic beverages will be able to be sold in bars and restaurants but will be closed at 11 pm.
A maximum of 250 people will be allowed to congregate in a religious ceremony within a venue, while 500 people will be allowed to gather in outside events. Ramaphosa made the announcement when he discussed with health experts and religious leaders on Tuesday ways to prevent the new wave of Covid-19 from spreading. He said that his government is doing everything possible to enlarge the country’s vaccine campaign.
There have been more than 1.5 million cases of coronavirus in South Africa, the highest number of cases in Africa. 52,788 people have died due to this epidemic in the country.
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