DURBAN – The alcohol industry has breathed a sigh of relief following Sunday night's family meeting in which President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the country's move to an adjusted level 2 – but did not mention further restrictions on booze sales.
"We do not have the option of another hard lockdown. The restrictions imposed by last year’s lockdowns, combined with the outbreak of Covid-19, resulted in South Africa’s worst economic retraction in over 90 years. This included the three blanket bans on alcohol, which had a devastating impact on our local beer industry, with over 7 400 jobs lost, R14.2 billion in lost sales revenue and more than a R7.8bn loss in taxes and excise duties," Basa said.
"Everyone needs to play their part when it comes to employing non-pharmaceutical measures to mitigate the effects of a third wave over the coming months. This will require every citizen taking individual responsibility for their own health and safety as we await the mass roll out of vaccines," the association said.
In his address to the nation last night, Ramaphosa said there has been an average of 3 745 new infections daily.