Durban - The metro police has warned residents that the country is still in a pandemic.
This was in response to excessive partying calls at people's homes during the first weekend that the alcohol ban was lifted.
Durban Metro Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Parboo Sewpersad said while there were no arrests, there had been an increase in the number of road accidents and they had also noted that hospital trauma wards were full at the weekend.
On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa had lifted the ban on the sale and distribution of alcohol under lockdown level 3 regulations, where the sale from retail outlets would be permitted from Monday to Thursday, 10am to 6pm, and on-site consumption of alcohol would be permitted at licensed outlets from 10am to 10pm.
"There were five accidents, one of which was on the M7 on Saturday night, where the driver lost control of his vehicle. While it is not known if the driver had been drunk, speed has been attributed.There were no fatalities in any of the accidents. This weekend we noted that, with the alcohol outlets opened, reports of loud music disturbances and partying at residences also increased," said Sewpersad.
He explained that officers embarked on curfew compliance operations and while there were no arrests, officers used their own discretion and had warned residents to adhere to Covid-19 regulations.
'We are still under level 3 of the lockdown, where social gatherings are still prohibited. We noted this weekend that people were gathering at their homes and drinking ," he said.
He explained that there were no roadblocks, as they were trying to limit contact for their officers.
"We will do vehicle searches and stop vehicles in our compliance with curfew operations, however, with roadblocks we are trying to minimise these."
Meanwhile, the Johannesburg Metro Police Department said it had arrested 42 drunken drivers in the Johannesburg CBD since February 1.
“They were taken for blood sample tests, then they were detained at police stations where they were granted bail, as well as a date when to appear in court. The driver who tested 0.98mg per 1 000ml of breath, was one of the highest, which was four times above the legal limit of 0.24mg per 1 000ml of breath,” said police spokesperson Wayne Minnaar.
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