Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa ordered bars and restaurants to close at night
and limit the number of patrons to 50 people during the day as it ratcheted up
its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The government, which has already shut most
international flight routes and closed schools, issued the order on Wednesday.
Bars and restaurants that sell liquor must remain closed from 6 p.m to 9 a.m.,
it said.
The order from Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the
minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, comes after
President Cyril Ramaphosa on March 15 declared a national state of disaster.
While South Africa’s number of confirmed cases -- at 116 -- is lower than many
countries, the number is rising fast.
With an economy already battered by electricity
outages and indebted state companies, South Africa has been hit hard by the
impact of the global pandemic. Ramaphosa’s swift response has drawn praise from
opposition parties and medical professionals.
In Johannesburg, the country’s biggest city,
many people are already working from home, and bars and restaurants have
emptied since Ramaphosa’s speech. - Africa
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