South Africans brave cold to buy booze
Thirsty South Africans braved the early morning cold on Tuesday to stock up on alcohol as government finally lifted the ban on the sale of booze.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the easing of lockdown regulations on Saturday evening, which included the sale of tobacco products, alcohol and inter-provincial travel.
The lifting of the alcohol ban comes after the president re-imposed the prohibition in June to help alleviate the pressure on the health system.
#Level2regulations | Customers braving the cold outside Makro in Roodepoort this morning. Some customers have been waiting since 6am to buy some booze pic.twitter.com/yoeN6pNJSg
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Gauteng in general did not seem to experience the same rush to buy alcohol as the last time the ban was lifted, with a slow to normal start to the morning.
A few people waited outside Makro in Roodepoort to purchase booze.
One consumer said they are buying alcohol to support the economy.
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"Today is just really to get back to the normal, support the economy which has taken a huge hit since the lockdown and to support the winelands.
"I'm going to buy more wine than normal.”
This while a restaurant owner told Jacaranda FM News that he is glad he finally he can sell alcohol at his establishment.
He said the past couple of months have been hectic.
"We've been here at half-past 6 this morning. We have been dying to get things back to normal. A lot of restaurants have closed down so we're lucky.
“We had to diversify and rely on take-aways".
