Covid-19 Update: Government clarifies Tweet about indefinate ban on alcohol and cigarettes

UPDATE: 22 July 5.45pm

A tweet sent out by the official South African Government Twitter account earlier today stating that the ban on the sale of alcohol and cigarettes would remain in place until the end of the lockdown period, has been clarified by the same account.

According to a Tweet posted a few hours later, the initial Tweet was incorrect. According to the newer Tweet, the ban would remain in place until the end of lockdown level 3, but that this could be reviewed at any time.

1/2:
This account posted a tweet earlier today which said that the ban on the sale of alcohol and cigarettes would remain in place throughout the lockdown period. This is incorrect. The sale of alcohol and tobacco products is prohibited under the current Level 3 regulations.

— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) July 22, 2020

2/2: This decision may be reviewed at any time by the relevant structures should the conditions which necessitated it change. We regret any confusion the tweet has caused.

— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) July 22, 2020

The Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita) questioned on its Facebook page how a Tweet such as that was approved and released.

“The South African government now states that the tweet posted on its official account earlier today which said that the ban on the sale of alcohol and cigarettes would remain in place throughout the lockdown period is incorrect, and that the sale of alcohol and tobacco products is prohibited under the current Level 3 regulations.

“We want to know how such a callous tweet was “incorrectly” typed, approved and released. Unfortunately our confidence and trust in government has been eroded and we cannot see how such an “error” could have been made. One which then took over 5 hours to be corrected. Was the retraction not perhaps as a result of the public uproar?”

INITIAL REPORT: 22 July, 2.30pm

The South African Government confirmed in a Tweet earlier today that its intention was to keep the alcohol and cigarette ban in place until the end of the lockdown period.

According to the Tweet, the purpose of the ban is to save lives and protect the health and well-being of the South African people.

https://twitter.com/GovernmentZA/status/1285879006420762624

The Tweet included two posters with the title ‘The Data behind the Alcohol Ban” which stated that by limiting alcohol-related hospital visits and admissions, exposure to, and transmission of Covid-19 would be limited.

The ban, according to the posters will also have an impact on reducing the burden on primary care and private facilities.

The Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita) expressed concern over the statements.  Fita represents 80 percent of legitimate and licensed cigarette manufacturers in Southern Africa. The organisation has urged government to immediately clarify the statement.

A statement posted on Fita’s Facebook page reads as follows:

“This statement contradicts government’s previous position on this issue, with inter alia President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister Jackson Mthembu both stating on a number of occasions publicly that it was only a matter of time before the ban on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products was lifted.

This while the #jobssavelives movement took to the streets across the country today to protest certain lockdown restrictions, including the prohibition on the sale of alcohol, stating that hundreds of thousands of jobs have already been lost.

Read more on the #jobssavelives movement here.