Restaurant Association: Limit of 50 people at eateries ‘financial suicide'
The Restaurant Association of South Africa (RASA) has welcomed government’s decision to allow eateries to open for sit-down meals under level 3 of the national lockdown.
On Wednesday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa gave the industry the green light to return to work albeit under strict regulations.
But RASA CEO Wendy Alberts says there are still some details to iron out.
“The true hope will be in what the proposed norms and standards are that we’ve out to government and whether those measurements that we’ve out in place to restore the industry will be a workable solution.”
Alberts hopes government will relax the cap on gatherings, which under the current regulations only allows for 50 people to gather in one place.
“We’ve made it clear that our restaurant industry cannot reopen with a limited number of seats, we need to go in with a minimum of 60% as well as having liquor sales in order to even try bring remotely some form of recovery to the industry,” Alberts adds.
“If this doesn’t happen then we might as well turn off the lights.”
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President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Wednesday that restaurants, cinemas, casinos and the personal care industry will be allowed to reopen. Cosatu's Sizwe Pamla says it is difficult to understand why restaurants are allowed to welcome back sit-in diners when the country is facing a surge in Covid-19 infections.
The personal care industry is among the industries that will be given immunity to operate under level 3, as well as cinemas, theatres and casinos.
“We were an industry that was largely affected by this magical number of 50 and we’ve been trying for weeks on end to understand what the protocols to mitigate the risk and how that number is ascertained in whether you’re a 100square metre coffee shop or a 100 seater restaurant,” she says.
“We cannot go back to simply having a number within an establishment, it would be financial suivide for many more restaurants.”
The industry heads are expected to meet with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on Thursday to establish the finer details, including a date for reopening.