We all have COVID-19 fatigue.

We all want the pandemic to be over.

But that isn’t going to happen while people flout physical distancing and PPE rules, and pretend that we’re not dealing with daily deaths and infections.

This appears to have passed the owners and patrons of Buccaneers in East London by, if a video that has been doing the rounds is anything to go on.

The video, which you can watch below, shows a massive party, in a packed venue, with patrons dancing maskless in close proximity:

According to News24, the Eastern Cape Liquor Board, once they became aware of the video, launched an investigation into the incident, with the Buffalo City Metro urging businesses to “put lives before profits”.

Via The Citizen, management at Buccaneers was arrested and has been fined R5 000 in accordance with the penalties for violating lockdown restrictions as outlined in the Disaster Management Act.

The Buffalo City Municipality says that they hope that “this will send a strong message to businesses across the city that non-compliance will not be tolerated”.

At first, when police confronted Buccaneers owner Gerald Goddard, he was very coy, say those who investigated:

When asked about the video, he told us that it was an old video. We then requested him to show us the video footage of Saturday night. He first refused, stating that he was fearing incriminating himself. Mr Goddard later admitted that he deleted the video footage on purpose.

When something like this happens, it has the potential to impact profits in the service industry. If the government feels that restaurants and bars are unable to adhere to lockdown restrictions, there’s the chance that they will be closed or forced to operate in a limited capacity.

The actions of the few can impact the livelihoods of the many.

[source:news24&citizen]