Bottle stores open smoothly
After 67 days of lockdown in SA and a ban on the sales of alcohol, restrictions were lifted on Monday.
Hearing that queues outside bottle stores in the metros such as Port Elizabeth and East London had begun as early as 5am, a Talk of the Town reporter looked around the Port Alfred CBD at about 6am, but it was quiet. By 7am there were only a handful of people in town, and no significant queues to be found.
Later, the CBD began to get busy and, by midday, aside from many but not all of the people wearing masks, it seemed as though the lockdown was over.
Another TotT reporter waited in the short queue outside a local bottle store and found it moved quickly. Shoppers had their temperatures taken and hands sprayed and a peg was clipped on their clothing to signify they were approved to enter the store. Shelves were well-stocked and although the cheaper bottles of wine sold out first, no-one seemed to be buying excessive amounts of alcohol.
Bottle stores are only open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, but the move by the Covid-19 national command council to unban the sale of alcohol is expected to curtail the booming black market trade, with many willing to pay exorbitant prices for even the cheaper labels of brandy, whisky and gin among others.
It has been estimated the ban on the sale of alcohol and tobacco products has cost in excess of R300bn in revenue lost to SARS, possibly more.
Many civic organisations, political parties and tobacco retailers, as well as private individuals, have called for the lifting of restrictions on cigarette and tobacco sales too.