For the second time this year, the president of South Africa has enacted a temporary ban on alcohol purchases as the number of coronavirus cases continues to surge in the nation.
President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement on Sunday and suggested that alcohol consumption at parties in the country “has resulted in substantial pressure being put on hospitals, including trauma and ICU units, due to motor vehicle accidents, violence, and related trauma” and has left hospitals scrambling to find room to treat coronavirus patients.
Ramaphosa said that while “most” residents have heeded calls for social distancing, some have chosen to act “without any responsibility to respect and protect each other.”
“There are a number of people who have taken to organizing parties, who have drinking sprees, and some who walk around crowded spaces without wearing masks,” he said.
South Africa has been the hardest-hit nation on the African continent, and just last week, recorded the largest spike in coronavirus cases since the outbreak began. Gauteng, the most populated province in the country and home to Johannesburg, has been the site of the largest increase in coronavirus cases.
The alcohol ban will remain in place until Aug. 21, and Ramaphosa also said that a nighttime curfew between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. local time will go into effect on Monday as officials prepare more than 28,000 beds for an expected influx in patients.
