COVID UPDATE BY KOKETSO MAMABOLO
Alcohol vs COVID-19:
The protective measures being put in place “We call upon all travellers, especially those who are unvaccinated or partly vaccinated coming from areas declared hotspots, to get vaccinated before hitting the roads to protect their families and friends they will be visiting during this period associated with large social gatherings like parties and weddings, which can be ‘super spreader’ events that carry a huge risk of transmission of the virus”, said the Honourable Minister Phaahla in a December statement. Amidst a push to get more of the adult population vaccinated, South African scientists identified a new variant that has seen cases rise and borders close. Questions have been raised about restrictions within the country, with many wondering if it may be time for the National Corona Command Council (NCCC) to recommend moving the nation to a higher
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lockdown level. The recommendations on alcohol have previously been based on how the health system is coping with non-COVID patients. In 2020, at the height of liquor restrictions, hospitals were seeing a sixty to seventy percent drop in admissions and visits in their trauma units. “In general, alcohol use is expected to reduce adherence to non-pharmacological methods of reducing the transmission of SARS CoV 2 such as physical distancing, hand sanitation and use of masks within the social setting. In addition, hospitals are considered high risk areas for exposure to COVID. By limiting alcohol-related hospital visits/admissions we are limiting exposure to and transmission of SARS CoV 2,” reads a report from 2020 by the Health Department.
