Crescendo of calls to end curfew before New Year’s Eve

As calls mount for the government to end the Covid curfew before New Year’s Eve, health experts, the Restaurant Association of South Africa and the National Liquor Traders Association say it’s time to end the curfew once and for all.

Epidemiologist Dr Jo Barnes said the curfew was no longer justified at this point in the pandemic, and that a curfew from midnight to four in the morning was ludicrous as it did nothing to control the spread of disease.

“This inexplicable curfew seems to be kept in place simply to have it on the books in order to extend the hours when deemed necessary again,” she said.

“This is one of the administrative moves that make the public mistrust pandemic control mechanisms since they cannot see the sense of it, yet it negatively affects their lives and livelihoods.

“This is not how one builds trust between a population and the authorities.”

This was after Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to support the economy and end curfew before New Year’s Eve, as it would affect most New Year’s Eve festivities.

Restaurant Association chief executive Wendy Alberts said they supported ending the curfew as there was no evidence that it contributed to reducing transmission.

“We have to remember that the reason for lockdown was to adequately prepare the healthcare system,” Alberts said.

“However the healthcare system is not under pressure. therefore there is no need to have curfew and it should be scrapped.”

The National Liquor Traders Association’s Lucky Ntimane also said the restrictions were not necessary at all. “Restrictions and curfews should be done away with so we can allow the economy to grow and create much-needed jobs,” he added.

Steenhuisen said SA’s hospitalisation rates were low at the moment, with vaccines proving to be effective and omicron being less severe than previous Covid variants. He said this was thus a perfect time to give the country’s economy a shot in the arm.

“Ending the curfew is an easy and logical way to boost the economy, particularly the restaurant and events industry, which are major employers and have taken huge strain and made immense sacrifices during the pandemic,” Steenhuisen said.

He also said South Africans’ morale needed a boost and people should be able to legally come together with friends and family to celebrate the start of 2022 and the end of an incredibly tough 2021.

The DA leader said the curfew was “irrational” and “pointless” and that the party had opposed the curfew since the start of the lockdown measures

“Most people aren’t observing curfew anyway.

“This underscores the irrationality of the curfew, which is doing more harm than good by undermining the rule of law,” he added.

“Are the police going to arrest people celebrating New Year’s Eve?

“Law enforcement should be focused on preventing drunk driving and real criminality, not on those who may be breaking the curfew.”

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