JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa imposed further COVID-19 restrictions on Monday, closing down beaches on the eastern coast and limiting large public gatherings ahead of the festive season, as the country looks to slow a sharp rise in infections.
“Given the rate at which new cases have grown over the last two weeks, there is every possibility that if we do not act urgently … the second wave will be more severe than the first wave,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address.
Alcohol sales will now be permitted to between Monday and Thursday, while curfew will now be from 2300 to 0400.
(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; EEditing by Mfuneko Toyana)
