As pubs,shebeens and taverns prepare to reopen their doors for the first time in five months tomorrow, business owners say they are apprehensive about how to enforce regulations on social distancing.
President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement on Saturday of the relaxation of the Covid-19 lockdown to level 2 has been met with mixed emotions by business owners, particular those who trade in alcohol. The reopening under strict precautionary measures will mean a big surge in spending for cleaning equipment and staff.
Several owners told Sowetan yesterday that they have started preparing themselves for reopening their facilities.
In Soweto, Mamphethi Rammase, general manager at PDL Lifestyle Lounge in Pimville, said controlling the number of patrons will be a priority.
“We will have someone at the gate who will keep a headcount of the people who are coming in. We know 50 people are supposed to be allowed in so that’s exactly what we will do.
“We haven’t stocked as yet and will only be doing that on Monday because it would have been pointless to have alcohol on stock, plus distributors will only open on Monday,” she said.
Before lockdown, PDL Lifestyle Lounge attracted over 1,000 patrons per weekend.
In Braamfontein, at popular The Bannister, Masiwa Musindo said the limit of 50 people would be difficult to adhere to and will make it longer for them to recover from their losses.
“We are going to try by all means to adhere to safety regulations. That’s why you see sanitisers all around, we have hands and surface sanitisers and we have spaced out our table so that we abide to the regulations.”
Mmeli Ndlovu, who runs a club and restaurant called Kutlwano Lunch in Yeoville, began cleaning his facility yesterday.
“For now, the most important thing for me is to clean the space… We will just take our time, clean our space and allow the excitement about drinking alcohol at pubs to subside, then we will open from the week after next. We don’t want to have long queues,” Ndlovu said.
A few blocks down the road, Chidi Eze, who runs Malalaituka, a pub and restaurant, said he did not have the luxury to wait.
“We are going to clean the place today, and tomorrow we will demarcate social distancing for customers and also start stocking alcohol. My customers have already called me and they are happy that they will be able to come and spend some time at my place,” Eze said.
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Mzamo Mashabane, who owns Mashabane tavern at Pienaar outside White River in Mpumalanga, said he had already made arrangements for his stock to please his customers.
“You know some clients need a push to adhere to the law. I have already spoken to a few guys to be bouncers and keep people out of my premises at least around 9pm, so that they can meet the 10pm deadline where they need to be in their houses. Again, as you know, there’s going to be a few people, because I have enough space I’m going to allow at least 20 people to be inside the tavern,” said Mashabane.
Level 2 of the lockdown has also lifted restrictions for inter-provincial travel and allows the sale of tobacco products. Family visits are allowed while gyms and fitness centres will also be permitted to reopen.
Virgin Active SA, however, has said it would not open its doors to its members tomorrow.
“While we have been given the green light to reopen, there are still protocol submissions to be made before we announce a reopening date. We will not be opening on Tuesday, but will update our members accordingly when we have the date," said spokesperson Carla White.
“The company has been informed that each fitness operator will need to submit its Covid-19 plans to government for approval before it can open. This process is expected to take a week to complete, but the company will keep the public updated via its website.”
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