By Naadiya Adams

A new curfew amid the COVID-19 resurgence has sent the restaurant industry into a tailspin. Restaurant Association of South Africa (Rasa) says it will engage with President Cyril Ramaphosa about the country’s latest restrictions

In an address on Monday evening, President Ramaphosa announced that South Africa’s national curfew will be extended from 23h00 until 04h00.

This directly impacts the hospitality industry as they would need to close doors by 22h00 in order for staff to journey home in time for curfew.

While a busy festive season was anxiously expected to relieve some of the pressure felt in recent months, Rasa’s Wendy Alberts told eNCA that the restaurant industry had been somewhat shocked by the announcement as it had asked the government to reduce the curfew in the interests of business.

The new restrictions announced by Ramaphosa came into effect immediately with Tuesday being day one for new restrictions.

These restrictions will be reviewed in early January based on the state of the country’s coronavirus cases, he said.

The new restrictions include:

Stricter enforcement level 1 lockdown restrictions – Masks to be worn at ALL times in public spaces.

Gatherings – Gatherings will be further restricted to 100 people for indoor events and 250 for outdoor events. With only a 50% capacity being allowed.

Alcohol – The sale of alcohol will only be permitted from 10h00 – 18h00 from Monday to Thursday at retail outlets. Wine farms can remain open and sell alcohol for off-site consumption as per their licence hours.

Beaches – Ramaphosa said that a differentiated approach would be taken. Areas with high coronavirus cases beaches and parks will be closed from 16 December to 3 January – this will apply to all of the Eastern Cape and the Garden Route. Beaches will also be closed in KZN on days which are particularly busy. These include 16 December, 26 December, 31 December, 1 January, 2 January, and 3 January. Beaches and public parks in the Western Cape and Northern Cape will remain open for now.

Evening – South Africa’s national curfew will be extended: 23h00 until 04h00. This means that non-essential establishments such as restaurants will have to close at 22h00 so that staff and patrons can go home before curfew. The curfew is in full effect on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Funerals – All post-funeral gatherings are prohibited across the country.

For those venturing out into the virus ridden areas, we urge to be smart and be safe!