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RASA says its sector will be the hardest hit during Level 4 lockdown

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The Restaurant Association of South Africa (RASA) says its sector will be the hardest hit after the country moved to level 4 lockdown.

The association says while it appreciates there are difficult choices to be made due to COVID-19, there has been no consultation, financial support nor remedy for the sector.

RASA warns there will be thousands of jobs lost due to the newly announced restrictions.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the sector could no longer have sit-ins at Level 4 and can only serve takeaways.

The restaurant industry says government has no plan nor financial support for the sector which has been bleeding jobs and closing businesses since last year.

RASA spokesperson Wendy Alberts says they also don’t have any tax deferment or halting of leases or rent in places where they operate, and this will pose a huge challenge for the sector.

Alberts adds that the sector is calling on government to support the industry.

“We have been called to close our businesses and we’re not in a position to trade and yet we are still expected to pay 100 percent of our debt. This is absolutely unconstitutional there is no mention of the Temporary Employment Relief Scheme [Ters]. And there is still no extraditing of vaccines.”

“If we are at the forefront and we have been targeted yet again as an industry where we are labelled responsible for the spread of COVID-19, why are [we] not getting the vaccines. We have to remodel our businesses again and the insurances have become very tricky, rewritten our policies with us. The banks are still demanding our payments,” says Alberts.

The video below is President Ramaphosa’s address:

Meanwhile, South Africa has reported 15 036 new cases, taking the total number of infections to 1 928 897.

There are 158 998 active cases in the country.

There were 122 reported deaths overnight, pushing the death toll to 59 900.

The recovery rate is 88.7%.

 

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21:00 Curfew from Monday

The curfew will now start at 9pm until 4 am from Monday.

Ramaphosa says this will be in place for fourteen days.

President Ramaphosa says Gauteng accounts for more than 60% of the country’s infections.

The President says people have let their guard down.

“All gatherings whether indoors or outdoors are prohibited. These include political, cultural, social and religious gatherings. Funerals and cremations will continue to be permitted but attendance may not exceed 50 people. Night vigils after funeral gatherings are not allowed. The sale of alcohol both for onsite and offsite consumption is prohibited,” he adds.

School holidays

Ramaphosa says the winter school holidays will start earlier, in a bid to flatten the curve as the country wards off the third wave of the coronavirus.

Ramaphosa says by the end of the week, no contact teaching and learning will be allowed

Currently, South Africa is battling with the delta variant that is spreading rapidly and is highly transmissible.

 

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