Restaurants cut back on staff in the face of stringent regulations
Restaurants will have to scale back on staff at all establishments as the new regulations to clamp down on the spread of coronavirus kick in.
On Wednesday the Cooperative Governance Ministry announced strict new measures to curb the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) ordering all bars and shebeens to close at 6pm.
Under the new regulations the establishments can only re-open at 9am.
Restaurants will continue to trade as usual but cannot sell alcohol after 6pm.
Despite previous engagements with the Department of Tourism, the Restaurant Association of South Africa (Rasa) says they were left out of the loop this time around.
"This, unfortunately, came through a different government body - it came through the minster of Traditional Affairs. We have been unable to speak to anyone from that office," says Rasa CEO, Wendy Alberts.
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On Thursday President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement after meeting with religious leaders in Pretoria on plans to tackle the COVID-19 disaster. Ramaphosa pleaded with religious leaders to help government with containing the continuous spread of the virus in light of this increase.
Alberts says restaurants have also been ordered to cap the number of people at an establishment at any given time.
"The next important part is that restaurants need to ensure that there are not more than 50 people, including staff, on the premises at any point in time."
"And the second part is where there is a gathering, like for a wedding, no establishments are permitted to sell liquour."
She adds that restaurants will adhere to the regulations, but it won't be without implications for the industry.
"Some restaurants operate with between 40 and 100 staff, so we're talking massive volumes of people here that are going to be affected by this.
"Owners will need to speak to their landlords to freeze their lease agreements, to engage with the banks and put pressure on the banks for their credit cards. We're very frustrated with the third-party delivery services; they're demanding 27% plus VAT on the delivery charges. That's just ridiculous," Alberts says scathingly.
No special or events liquor licences will be granted during the duration of the national state of disaster.