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brewers warn that a festive season prohibition will negate any recovery in the sector

Beer industry welcomes lifting of Covid-19 alcohol ban

But brewers warn that a festive season prohibition will negate any recovery in the sector

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Grocers reap tidy profits from liquor

Covid-19 bans on alcohol and the recent violence have exposed just how important booze sales are to retailers that once only filled trolleys with food

South Africa remains under Covid-19 alert level four, with minor changes

As the Delta variant fuels infections, the ban on alcohol sales remains, schools will stay closed until 26 July and restaurants may open with limited numbers

The social development department is discussing vaccinating ECD, Sassa workers in current phase

Minister Lindiwe Zulu made wide-ranging announcements on Friday, including how early childhood development centres should operate under level-four lockdown

Level 4 for all to avoid a Gauteng situation in other provinces

The national coronavirus command council explained why additional restrictions were placed on the entire country

A health worker screens  a resident at Diepsloot Covid-19 screening and testing site at Diepsloot Sarafina Park on May 08, 2020 in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is reported that more than 12 000 people have been screened and over 1000 people tested in Diepsloot. The Premier urged the people of Diepsloot to continue practicing safety measures including social distancing and wearing cloth masks when leaving home. (Photo by Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

How do we know if SA is in a third Covid-19 wave — and could there be a fourth?

A team working with the country’s Covid ministerial advisory committee uses a formula to keep tabs on the rise of infections. Here’s how it works

(John McCann/M&G)

Covid caution infects investors

The pandemic has forced some companies to cancel or pause capital expenditure, jeopardising long-term economic growth

Booze, pools, and late(r) nights – Covid lockdown eased

Less strict measures are in place as South Africa moves through Covid-19 second wave

Up to one in five people can get long COVID — a condition in which someone keeps on feeling ill for months after their initial symptoms have cleared up. (Paul Botes)

‘Jobs vs health’: What will shape public-health policies after Covid-19?

Comorbidities, particularly noncommunicable diseases have been put into the spotlight during the Covid-19 pandemic. How we approach preventing NCDs in the future will depend on…

Cheaper, untaxed cigarettes are disproportionately used by lower-income smokers, people with less formal education and heavier smokers — groups more vulnerable to both economic strain and health risks.

Trail of Covid cases on trial in the courts

Since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the state of disaster in March, the government’s lockdown regulations have been the subject of public scrutiny and ire

Punters at the  Kimberly Hotel in Cape Town use the slot machine room. (David Harrison/M&G)

Locked-down bars survive through gamblers’ luck

Forced to turn away drinkers, bars and pubs with slot machines have managed to keep their doors open during the tough national lockdown

Phillimon Mojale is the owner of Mojale Place, a tavern in Ivory Park township, north of Johannesburg. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Taverns hit hard by liquor ban

About R8-billion was lost during the hard lockdown and revenue is being slashed further

Glass ceiling: The ban on the sale of liquor is not only affecting tavern owners (above). Glass manufacturers sell about 85% of their products to the alcohol beverages industry. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

The glass is half empty

The ban on alcohol sales does not only affect liquor companies — it ripples lethally through other related businesses such as the bottle and packaging industry, which, if it…

Eusebius McKaiser: Ramaphosa may want to swap title of president for mister

The president and the National Coronavirus Command Council have turned taxis into vectors of death

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused pain for minibus taxi passengers and drivers. (Paul Botes/M&G)

Taxis and Covid-19: ‘The ideal doesn’t exist’

After months of complaining about the regulations imposed on the industry, taxi owners have been given a lifeline

A member of the South African Police Service (SAPS) arrest suspects after they were found in possession of alcohol, that goes against the rules of the nation wide lockdown, in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, on March 27, 2020. – South Africa came under a nationwide lockdown on March 27, 2020, joining other African countries imposing strict curfews and shutdowns in an attempt to halt the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus across the continent. (Photo by Luca Sola / AFP) (Photo by LUCA SOLA/AFP via Getty Images)

Mask rules are not meant to ‘criminalise’ the public

Shop owners and taxi drivers can now refuse entry to people who defy mandatory mask-wearing regulations

President Cyril Ramaphosa. (GCIS)

Ramaphosa asks all South Africans to help to avoid 50 000 Covid-19 deaths this year

Calling this ‘the gravest crisis in the history of our democracy’, the president said level three lockdown remains, but enforcement will be strengthened

Currently, government is not required to disclose its interactions with the tobacco industry and political parties are not required to disclose financial contributions. (Petar Starčević/Pexels)

‘Those who zol’: Dangerous discourses in a time of crisis

Smoking out social tobacco users as unique spreaders of the coronavirus sends out the wrong messages

Alcohol has been a central topic of discussion during the national lockdown.

Alexandra’s black market for booze under lockdown

Underground liquor has a long history in South Africa. Its next chapter is being written under the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown

A 2020 study found that the cost incurred by provincial and national governments from alcohol abuse was R17 billion

Eusebius McKaiser: Why a total ban on selling alcohol is irrational

At the heart of the body’s challenge of the lockdown alcohol sales ban, is the question of whether a total ban achieves the purpose of flattening the coronavirus curve