Another hard lockdown is unlikely, but it may be time to rein in the boozers

As the country holds its breath ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on Monday night, an expert has said it is highly unlikely he would impose a second hard lockdown, since most South Africans would simply not abide by it due to lockdown fatigue.

A renewed limit on liquor trading hours could, however, be the best option in containing the spread of the pandemic and may be on the cards.

With the country officially reaching the second wave of infections, Ramaphosa’s address to the nation comes following engagements with the National Command Council on Sunday.

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As usual, some hoax social media messages and rumours have lead to the anticipation of a possible second lockdown, but this was highly unlikely, said public health lawyer Safura Abdool Karim.

“I think it is unlikely we will go into a second lockdown. People don’t want to do that and won’t abide by it. We have reached a point where it is about our behaviour.”

But just like Ramaphosa did with Nelson Mandela Bay earlier this month, reinstating a curfew and restricting liquor trading hours nationally would be the better option, said Abdool Karim.

“Those are nice measures because they achieve a lot of things for little impact. How and where alcohol can be sold avoids situations like the matric Rage super-spreader event, and people are not taking up ICU beds because they drove drunk,” she said.

Shutting down beaches unaffordable

It is not yet clear whether the president would do an about turn on the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal’s decisions for beaches during the holiday period, but shutting them down was something the country’s economy could not afford, said economist Dawie Roodt.

“The economy has taken such a huge knock that we have to go out of our way to get it to grow again. We simply cannot afford it and more people could die because of the increase in poverty than the actual virus, even though this is a dangerous virus.

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“This economy is broken. We are not out of a recession and we have to keep it open while putting measures in place to make it easier for the economy,” he said.

Are police capable of enforcing regulations?

With the political will and leadership, police were more than capable of enforcing lockdown rules as they were “basic stuff” that did not require sophisticated intervention, said founder of the Institute for Security Studies, Jakkie Cilliers.

All that was required was police visibility while talking to and educating transgressors instead of arresting them, said Cilliers.

“It depends on the message sent down the hierarchy and instructions issued. These are basic issues and police reaction in the beginning was counterproductive. I don’t think it’s a capacity issue but of given the right instructions and real understanding and willingness to implement them,” Cilliers said.

rorisangk@citizen.co.za

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