COVID-19: Alcohol ban is paying off – Zweli Mkhize

Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has lauded the alcohol ban, as having yielded results – hospitals across the country have reported fewer liquor-related ailments, which has helped frontline healthcare workers better deal with COVID-19 infections.

“They have seen a huge reduction in the acute trauma in emergencies, stab wounds, gun shot wounds, motor vehicle accidents, and large taxi accidents, where you’ve got a number of people killed at the same time,” Mkhize said, in light of the alcohol ban.

The minister conducted site visits at several hospitals in Gauteng, including Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Tshwane and the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 19 January 2021.

Under Level 3 of the lockdown regulations, the sale and on-site consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited. While the alcohol ban has been warmly welcomed by the healthcare sector, particularly as the country experiences a second wave of COVID-19 infections, the sector itself is unhappy.

COVID-19 in SA: Will the alcohol ban be lifted?

Mkhize has emphasised that the country was still seeing a rise in infections, which some might see as an indication that the alcohol ban will likely continue.

“We are not sitting here saying people must never drink alcohol. We are saying the suspension of alcohol has had the desired effect of reducing pressure on health workers, to the extent that they are now able to attend to a surge of unpredictable numbers. If we’re still facing the surge, we’d like to see that our focus goes to unavoidable problems such as the infection, rather than to the avoidable situations that alcohol brings,” he said.

The minister’s comments come on the same day Heineken SA announced it would be cutting at least 70 jobs, a move attributed to the contentious alcohol ban.

“Unfortunately this review will mean that we need to reduce the number of employees across some roles. Heineken South Africa employs just under 1 000 full time employees and through this process, will reduce the total workforce by approximately 7%,” the company has said.

Mkhize however said he was not yet ready to make recommendations to the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC), which determines lockdown levels and the overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re watching these infection numbers. The numbers are improving but we’re not anywhere near where we can say that things are fine,” he said.