Is it even legal to ban alcohol sales?
Yes, the Disaster Management Act explicitly states that the sale of alcohol can also be suspended or limited once a state of disaster has been declared.
The case for a booze ban
Government has warned South Africans that alcohol weakens the immune system.
Fact-checking organisation Africa Check has found that this is indeed the case. Africa Check confirmed with several experts, who cited extensive research, that alcohol affects the immune system, weakening the body's defence against respiratory infections and that long-term alcohol misuse makes people vulnerable to respiratory infections. The research further shows that most South Africans who use alcohol are binge drinkers.
There also is some evidence that moderate alcohol consumption is harmless in specific circumstances, but the available research is not clear on how much alcohol a person can consume without damaging their immune system.
Supporters of the ban on alcohol sales also point out that its abuse often leads to violence and accidents, and that a ban will lead to reduced visits to hospital emergency rooms, freeing up more resources for the response to Covid-19.
Police Minister Bheki Cele, who seems particularly enthusiastic about the alcohol ban, places alcohol at the centre of South Africa's crime rate and said there has been a significant drop in the number of violent crimes reported since the lockdown began on Friday, March 27, City Press reported.
The ban on serving alcohol at bars, restaurants, taverns and other public events form part of the social distancing measures.
Criticism of the alcohol restrictions:
Apart from many people missing their favourite drinks, critics of the ban point to the economic effect this has on outlets. To this end, the Gauteng Liquor Forum threatened to take the ban of alcohol sales to the Constitutional Court. The body representing more than 20 000 taverns and shebeens in Gauteng townships, said its members' businesses were being "crippled" by the ban, and suggested that they should be allowed to operate for limited hours.
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