LISTEN: Covid cancelations cost SA R140m in just 48hrs
A broad grouping of associations in the alcohol, consumer, tourism and
leisure industries have called on government to protect the struggling economy
from further damage.
This comes after South African scientists announced the discovery of a new Covid variant, which lead to several countries imposing travel bans on the country and the southern African region.
CEO of South African Liquor Brand Owners Association (SALBA) Kurt Moore says associations representing the wine, beer, tavern, restaurant and hospitality industry have come together to call on government to lead by protecting live and livelihoods.
“There's been some preliminary surveys done by the hospitality sector just to see the impact of that announcement and within 48 hours there have been cancellations worth R140m of bookings from December all the way to March.”
Previous lockdowns and restrictions on business activity have already caused irreparable damage to the sectors and have caused significant job losses and led to the closure of some businesses.
Moore says although the country’s scientific community has been praised for detecting the new Covid-19 strain Omicron, the audience they announced to included politicians, who impose bans.
“Our scientific community has been applauded for being pro-active, but we must realize that we are not just communicating with other scientist, their audience also include international and local. Their audience include politicians who’ve impose travel bans on countries in this region.”
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