Looser lockdown rules defy logic

It would be fascinating to be a metaphorical fly on the wall of the planning offices deep within the metaphorical bowels of the National Coronavirus Command Council.

Wait – that wouldn’t happen, because the civil servants have declared flies are not permitted until Level 1… Absurdity is the only light with which you can view the ANC’s various lockdown decisions and the announcements yesterday were further proof of how socially distant from reality the ruling party has become.

It is to be applauded that we are now allowed to travel for leisure – at least those of us who have two cents to rub together in the wake of the destruction the lockdowns wrought on the economy.

However, we may only travel as far as the borders of our provinces to seek places where we may stay overnight. Even then, we must provide all our ID and contact details and must stick to the rules, including that there be no more than two people in a room together – other than members of a “nuclear family”.

Also read: Government moves curfew by an hour, allows intra-provincial leisure travel

Fortunately, there is no stipulation that the people sharing the room must be related, or even deeply committed to each other… so, hooray! The intra-provincial dirty weekend is alive and well …

Also, our rulers have permitted restaurants one hour of grace, by relaxing curfew start to 10pm daily. That is supposed to help eateries serve dinner in their busiest periods. Yet, they may not serve alcohol with meals, a good source of revenue. So the relaxation will probably be too little, too late, to save many restaurants and jobs.

At the same time, though, you can only hunt for “consumption” and also only in your province. No, we have no clue why these restrictions have been framed this way. When there is little logic behind regulations, people will be tempted to break them.

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