The South African Liquor Brand-owners Association (SALBA) has praised people for their patience and well-mannered behaviour on Monday as long queues formed amid the sale of alcohol.
Shoppers were seen filling their trolleys with cases and bottles of alcohol after government eased lockdown restrictions to allow its sale to resume following a nine week ban.
SALBA spokesperson Sibani Mngadi says traders had enough stock for consumers.
“We are really excited over the way the traders and the shoppers behaved on the first day. The queues were long, but people were patient and waited to have an opportunity to shop. On the traders’ side, we were able to plan appropriately and make sure that people were in queues with the appropriate dispensing and be able to have an opportunity to shop. It has been a tough period and we appreciate the opportunity to be able to trade,” says Mngadi.
Snaking lines as consumers queued for alcohol:
Consumers across various alcohol outlets in the country stood in long snaking lines to purchase their beverages as outlets opened their doors on Monday.
This is the South Africa we love to see #Liquorshops #AlcoholWillBeSold pic.twitter.com/gdJBJW8Win
— xclusv (@therealxclusv) June 1, 2020
Under Level 3 lockdown, alcohol can now be sold and purchased from Monday to Thursday between 9am and 5pm.
The selling of alcohol will not be permitted on Fridays, weekends and public holidays.
Alcohol may only be purchased for home consumption.
At an outlet in Clearwater in Roodepoort, some consumers said they started queuing from as early as 7am:
The infographic below outlines what to expect under level 3 lockdown:
