Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, has welcomed the end of the COVID-19 curfew announced by the Presidency on Thursday night.
He says it will give government more room to get a balance between saving lives and growing the economy. Winde says data suggests that hospital admissions are 30% lower in the province than during the third wave of the pandemic.
He has urged residents to celebrate the New Year responsibly to prevent trauma cases at hospitals.
Cabinet approves changes to COVID-19 regulations https://t.co/nKDkhA2THr
— Presidency | South Africa ?? (@PresidencyZA) December 30, 2021
I welcome the announcement that the curfew has been ended ahead of New Year’s Eve, as it is critical to save jobs in SA. The President needs to go one step further by ending the National State of Disaster. Read my full statement & 5-point plan here: https://t.co/tCDD1ENe4d pic.twitter.com/EN1BSyJttT
— Premier Alan Winde (@alanwinde) December 31, 2021
Alcohol
Cabinet announced that alcohol establishments, which have licences to operate beyond 11PM, will revert to full licence conditions.
The Minister in the Presidency is Mondli Gungubele says gatherings are restricted to no more than 1 000 people indoors and no more than 2 000 people outdoors.
Gungubele says, “Where the venue is too small to accommodate these numbers with appropriate social distancing, then no more than 50% of the capacity of the venue may be used. All other restrictions remain in place. Alcohol establishments that have licenses to operate beyond 23h00 will revert back to full license conditions.”
He says despite the lifting of Alert Level 1 curfew restrictions, people are still required to wear masks and observe social distancing when in public spaces.
Gungubele says, “ The risk of increase in infections is still high given the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant. Government therefore calls on all organisers of these gatherings to ensure that all health protocols are observed at all times and that all attendees are encouraged to be vaccinated. The wearing of masks in public places is still mandatory, and failure to wear a mask when required remains a criminal offence.”
