Western Cape’s health-care system is coping, so premier Alan Winde urges safe sale of alcohol
Pressure is mounting on the government to lift the ban on the sale of alcohol and to allow for more economic activity to prevent huge job losses.
“The impact of this temporary ban is not just felt in our agricultural and farming communities but also in our tourism and hospitality sector,” he said. This was the second such ban. The first one, which came into force when SA entered the strict lockdown at the end of March, lasted about 10 weeks, costing the industry R18bn in lost revenue and 100,000 jobs. The industry is worth about R140bn.
Winde said for as long as the Western Cape can assure access to health facilities for all Covid-19 patients, all businesses should be allowed to open safely provided they follow clear health guidelines designed to slow the spread of Covid-19. “In fact, the Western Cape government has now reached a point where we have to carefully consider whether all our field hospitals need to stay open, given these statistics and the scenario provisioning projections,” the premier said.
“That is why we have maintained that we should not view our response to Covid-19 as a zero-sum game. We can ready our health-care systems to respond and provide care, and we can open our economy safely at the same time.”
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