NELSON MANDELA BAY - INTERIM MAYOR BUYEYE WELCOMES NEW COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Interim Mayor Councillor Thsonono Buyeye has welcomed the new COVID-19 restrictions posed to the City to curb the further spread of the virus.

This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday, 3 December 2020 that Cabinet had decided to declare the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality a Coronavirus hotspot with additional restrictions implemented in the City at midnight.

Mayor Buyeye said: “We welcome the President’s pronouncement, some of what was pronounced by the President were our own submissions and we are happy that the President has agreed on the curfew. On the issue of alcohol sales, we had made a submission but what the President has pronounced makes things even more easier especially for the Department of Health who deal with the alcohol related cases that come to hospitals in the main.

“We believe that the measures taken will make sure that we deal with this surge in a short space of time. Within no time we should be seeing numbers decreasing and we believe that by the time Christmas comes some of the regulations may be relaxed already. We are confident that the right call has been made and we welcome the pronouncement. It is now up to us as the residents to make sure that we adhere to the regulations and make it easy for the law enforcement to not police us to do the right thing.”

The curfew in NMBM is now between from 10pm and 4am. No person may be outside their place of residence between those times except for emergencies and those who are essential workers as they are permitted to work during those hours.

The sale of alcohol from retail outlets will only be permitted between 10am and 6pm from Monday to Thursday.​ Alcohol consumption in public spaces, such as beaches and parks, is strictly forbidden. Gatherings including religious gatherings, may not be attended by more than 100 people for indoor events and 250 for outdoor events.

Presidents Ramaphosa said: “At all times, the total number of people in a venue may not exceed more than 50% of the capacity of the venue. Post-funeral gatherings are prohibited.”

Mayor Buyeye said in line with the plea made by President Ramaphosa and Eastern Cape Premier Lubabalo Mabuyane, the City urged each resident to act responsibly and work with the government to turn the situation around.

“Working together with everyone we can defeat this pandemic in the same way we did in the first wave. Alcohol sale from Friday to Sunday is prohibited, whether you are selling as a tavern or what there is no alcohol sales over the weekend. The grey area might be restaurants that sell alcohol but we will need to look at the regulation and analyse it so that we can dispense the right information to all the residents so that we are all on the right side of the law when it comes to the issue of alcohol.”

He said further engagements would take place between the City and the Eastern Cape Department of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to ensure safety after the initiation season was suspended in the City but approved for other areas in the province.

“We are still committed to work closely with the Provincial and National Government, all stakeholders including residents to ensure that the infections in our City decrease.”

via - NMBM