Cape Town – The next time you go to a restaurant, bar and tavern or attend a conference or religious gathering, make sure you pause at the entrance and count the number of people present – if you wish to avoid being found guilty of a criminal offence.
Not only that, it’s best you don’t get too carried away with what you are doing and keep observing whether the number of attendees of customers remains within the law.
While the lockdown regulations were eased on Sunday, you could still face a fine or jail time for being within the confines of a room with too many people.
The new Alert Level 3 regulations have not deviated from the recent Alert Level 4 rules. Previously, only organisers and venue managers were held responsible for ensuring the head count remained within the law.
"Any person who attends a faith based, religious, social, political or cultural gathering and who knows or ought reasonably to have known or suspected that the number of persons exceeds (50 people indoors and 100 outdoors) commits an offence and is, on conviction, liable to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment," reads the new Alert Level 3 regulations published by Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma in the Government Gazette on Sunday night.
It further states: ’’Any person who attends a restaurant, bar, shebeen or tavern and who knows or ought reasonably to have known or suspected that the number of persons attending exceeds (50 people indoors and 100 outdoors) commits an offence and is, on conviction, liable to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.’’
The same rules apply to those who find themselves at ’’conferencing, exhibition, dining or entertainment’’ facilities.
IOL