As the covid-19 continues to grow, President Cyril Ramaphosa imposed new restrictions to attempt to slow down the spread of the virus, and one was to limit large gatherings.
With that declaration from the president, wine estates in South Africa took to social media to announce that they will be shutting down services until further notice.
TOKARA Wine and Olive Estate wrote, “We regret to inform you of the temporary closure of our hospitality departments at TOKARA. This includes the Restaurant, the Delicatessen, and the Wine Tasting Lounge. We will reopen on the 24th of March”.
They also mentioned that a group of enthusiasts from the Netherlands visited them on March 9 in the evening for a private function while all of their departments were closed to the general public, and that one of the members of that group has since tested positive for the covid-19 virus, and that two members of their marketing team and the restaurant staff on duty that evening were in contact with this group and as such, they have implemented self-isolation and testing for these staff members.
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Please note that our hospitality departments will be temporarily closed until 24 March.
A post shared by TOKARAWine(@tokarawine) on Mar 16, 2020 at 12:51am PDT
Nederburg Wine Estate in Paarl said that in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address last night, as of March 16 this year their home in Paarl is closed until further notice.
"As a tourist destination in the Cape Winelands, we have the responsibility to do what we can to stop the spread of coronavirus. This also means that upcoming events such as the screening of La La Land will unfortunately be cancelled,” they wrote.
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A post shared by Nederburg Wines(@nederburgwine) on Mar 16, 2020 at 8:42am PDT
Franschhoek's Anthonij Rupert Wyne and the L’Ormarins Estate also decided to take precautionary measures by closing the estates until further notice.
“In light of the recent Coronavirus outbreak, Anthonij Rupert Wyne and L’Ormarins Estate have made the proactive decision to restrict all visitors to the Estates as a measure to protect both guests as well as employees from the spread of the virus. This decision has not been taken lightly, and has been made in an effort to join the national and international endeavours in containing the spread of the virus,” they wrote.
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A post shared by Anthonij Rupert Wyne(@anthonijrupertwyne) on Mar 16, 2020 at 3:26am PDT