COVID-19: South Africa reimposes alcohol ban, curfew measures

South Africa will reimpose a ban on the sale of alcohol and a nighttime curfew to reduce pressure on its hospitals as coronavirus infections rise rapidly, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday.

Ramaphosa's government imposed one of the strictest lockdowns in the world in late March and delayed a surge in infections, but it has since eased many restrictions over fears for its struggling economy.

Elderly men at a social grant paypoint in South Africa after the COVID-19 lockdown. /AFP

The numbers of COVID-19 cases are "rising fast," and the country has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa. It is now recording the fourth-largest daily increase in new cases worldwide.

In half of SA more than 50,000 confirmed cases have been recorded in the last two weeks as of Friday, prompting concerns that Africa's most developed economy is about to see a steep rise in infections. Africa has reported more than 190,000 cases, including more than 5,000 deaths, with SA reporting maximum numbers of infections, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A man stretches during lockdown at the entrance of his home in Cape Town, South Africa, April 7, 2020. /AP

The nighttime curfew will last from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. local time and take effect from Monday. Office goers and those seeking medical help have been exempted from travel restrictions. Regulations on the wearing of masks will be strengthened, but the country will remain on the third level of its five-level coronavirus alert system. Family visits and social activities remain banned.

Ramaphosa said current projections showed different provinces would reach the peak of infections between the end of July and late September.

He said scientists had presented models that forecast between 40,000 and 50,000 coronavirus deaths before the end of the year, adding: "We must make it our single most important task to prove these projections wrong."

Some patients spill into heated tents in the hospital parking lot, lay under blankets in the middle of winter in the Southern Hemisphere. /AP

Even as South Africa braces for increased cases and rising numbers of those hospitalized since last week, the country continued to ease many restrictions of its 10-week-old lockdown.

Ramaphosa said in a televised address on Sunday that the country could not afford its hospitals and clinics to be burdened with avoidable alcohol-related injuries.
"This is a fight to save every life, and we need to save every bed," he said, adding that "the coronavirus storm is far fiercer and more destructive than any we have known."

(With input from agencies)