CAPE TOWN - South Africa lockdown restrictions eased as the country moved into level 3, however, one of the biggest changes such as the lifting of the alcohol ban left many concerned.
As the shift to lockdown level 3 took place on Monday, it was hard to miss the response to the lifting on the ban with long queues outside liquor stores starting from early hours of the morning.
One of the main reasons for the ban on alcohol was to alleviate hospitals from alcohol-related trauma cases, which saw trauma admissions drop 66% at Groote Schuur hospital during level 5 according to the head of the Trauma Unit, Andrew Nicol.
However, lifting of the ban has proven to void the relief hospitals experienced during the previous lockdown levels with a spike in trauma unit cases within just 24 hours.
In response, the EFF released a statement on Twitter calling for South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, to reinstate the restriction on alcohol sales.
The drop in trauma cases has enabled hospitals to provide more resources to fighting Covid-19 and as stated by the EFF many of the countries hospitals are already overburdened, concluding their statement by saying that the lifting of the alcohol and tobacco ban may undo the progress the country has made over the past 3 months.
EFF Statement on the Reports of Alcohol Related Incidents. pic.twitter.com/sGHAAmVPlA
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) June 2, 2020
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