[imagesource: 123RF/Vladislavs Gorniks]

Last week, South Africa officially entered our third wave.

At the same time, senior members of the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) spoke about stricter lockdown measures being back on the table, in line with adjusted alert level 3.

At present, we are on adjusted alert level 2, for those who can’t keep up with it all.

Those sources spoke of the need to curb travelling between provinces, especially around school holidays, as well as using the army to enforce measures that are already in place.

The National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) is meeting this week, and acting Health Minister Mamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane hinted that restrictions on the sale of alcohol may be on the table.

This has been backed up by the head of the MAC, Professor Koleka Mlisana, reports BusinessTech:

“At an individual level, people are not adhering to the regulations of social distancing and not wearing masks. We need to be accountable.”

“I know there are always concerns about liquor, so there definitely has to be close interactions and discussions about that,” she said.

“We definitely have to get into stricter restrictions right now otherwise we will end up with a caving healthcare system.”

The National Liquor Traders Council says it’s aware of increased talk on this front and, as always, is pushing back on the grounds that the financial impact will wreak further havoc on already struggling businesses.

Here’s Lucky Ntimane, convenor of the National Liquor Traders Council:

“We’ve already had a total of 20 weeks of alcohol bans and many of our members have been forced to close their doors forever as a result.”

“It will take some of these families generations to climb back out of poverty, and there is no vaccine for poverty.”

Even if there was, our government would be painfully slow to roll it out.

Charles Parry, the Director of the Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drug Research Unit for the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), clearly believes restriction on the sale of alcohol would lessen the impact of our third wave:

“Demand for hospital beds in Gauteng amid third wave at crisis levels – SAMA”. Seems like ‘deja vu’ & alcohol-related trauma continues to put unnecessary pressure on hospital capacity. Do we never learn? https://t.co/05NrfaAIEQ via @ewnreporter

— Charles Parry (@profparry) June 15, 2021

In that report, the South African Medical Association (SAMA) said that the demand for beds in Gauteng hospitals has hit crisis levels, with the province currently the epicentre of the COVID-19 third wave.

According to News24, in Gauteng, there are currently 2 983 people in private hospitals fighting COVID-19.

Of those, 859 people are in ICU, 164 in high care, and 1 960 people are in general wards.

Dr Aslam Dasoo of the Progressive Health Forum also backs restrictions being placed on the sale of alcohol:

“I think they have to push back on the lobbies, the alcohol lobby and the entertainment lobby. The other thing they should consider – even though it might have an economic impact – is to restrict the sale of alcohol on Fridays and weekends.”

He said there was enough evidence to show the impact of alcohol-related trauma cases on hospitals was significant.

“Yes, alcohol issues are societal issues, but we are not going to fix the social problems overnight. We have to act with what we have right now.”

Indeed, and what we have right now is a third wave that has health officials genuinely worried.

What a time for our health minister to be on ‘special leave’ whilst the tourism minister takes over the department.

Hopefully, our deputy health minister, Dr Mathume Joseph ‘Joe’ Phaahla, who is a seasoned medical doctor with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery (MBCHB), is close by to offer advice.

[sources:bustech&news24]