Alcohol restrictions should be guided by scientific evidence, says Liquor Traders
The National Liquors Traders Council (NLTC) has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa urging him that any decision taken to ban alcohol during the third wave of Covid-19, be guided by scientific evidence.
The letter, dated on 23 May, further asks for a meeting with the office of the President.
Convener at the National Traders Council, Lucky Ntimane says sustainable solutions should be found so that the liquor traders can support government efforts to combat the pandemic in "every way possible".
“We call upon the President and his team to engage liquor traders, especially, where any decisions taken have a potential impact on our businesses.”
As the number of Covid-19 cases increases, the country is preparing to enter into a Covid-19 third wave.
Provinces like the Free State, the North West, the Northern Cape and Gauteng have already entered the resurgence.
The National Coronavirus Command Council is currently considering various proposals for stricter lockdown regulations to better manage the third wave.
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Ntimane says despite the increase in the number of infections, the country has learned a lot of considerable lessons from the past resurgences, thus the impact on the economy should be minimal.
“There is no doubt that as a country, one of the most important lessons that we have learnt from our past experiences of dealing with the pandemic, is that we can still fight COVID-19 with a less negative impact on our economy.
“In our case, liquor traders can continue to operate, subject to fully complying with safe operating standards, in a way that was not always possible previously,“ adds Ntimane.
As of Sunday, the number of Covid-19 cases has increased to 1 635 465 with the total number of deaths standing at 55 802.
