‘BOOZE NOT MAJOR CAUSE OF COVID-19 SPREAD’

MANZINI - In context, 2 648 minus 812 is 1 836. This mathematics shows the difference of the country’s COVID-19 cases between those recorded during the first month (July 2020) of the second ban of alcohol sale and those from the period when the country recorded its first confirmed case of coronavirus to the day before liquor sale was banned.

Given these figures and the debate which ensued over the ban of alcohol sale, this publication sought to establish if government’s move to prohibit the distribution and sale of alcohol worked or did not during the first half of the two-month ban.

The above figures reflect that from March 14, 2020, when the country recorded its first COVID-19 case to June 30, 2020, which is the day before the second ban of alcohol sale was implemented, it recorded 812 coronavirus cases. On the other hand, during the first month of the ban of alcohol sale (from July 1), it recorded 1 836 COVID-19 cases.

After analysing the above figures, the Swaziland National Liquor Association (SNLA) Secretary General, Thamsanqa Hlatshwayo, said since government, through Prime Minister (PM) Ambrose Dlamini, said it was banning the sale of alcohol because it was among the leading factors that spread COVID-19, the statistics prove otherwise.

Contributors

In fact, he said according to their analysis, alcohol was not among the leading contributors in the spread of COVID-19.
To support their analysis, the secretary general said according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health, minimal infections took place at social environments as most happened at home.

This was confirmed by the Director of Health Services, Dr Vusi Magagula, who said so far, almost 70 per cent of the infections took place at home, while approximately 20 per cent happened at work and only about 10 per cent were recorded to have occurred at social environments.
As such, Hlatshwayo emphasised that government got it wrong when it claimed that alcohol was among the leading contributors to the spread of COVID-19.
He added that this was because it was public knowledge that alcohol was being sold in the black market, where COVID-19 guidelines were not adhered to, but still social infections were minimal.

“This means that the social infections were going to be even better if government allowed the legal liquor traders to operate because they would ensure that alcoholic beverages were strictly sold for home consumption, educate the public and adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines,” Hlatshwayo said.

Again, the secretary general said government did not have control over the black market. He said there was no way customers could be sanitised because they traded in a hurry so as not to be caught by law enforcers. He added that there was no way the black marketers could order the people to drink at home because they were making a killing in terms of profit.

Hlatshwayo said as far as they were concerned, there was no way to separate cigarettes from alcohol.
He said the ban of the sale of alcohol had been implemented twice since the outbreak of COVID-19, but the sale of cigarette was never prohibited despite the fact that smokers shared it.

“Now that the prices have hiked, a cigarette is shared by many people because they cannot afford to buy any,” Hlatshwayo added.
He said they approached government to demonstrate their awareness of the unique challenges presented by the pandemic and their willingness as an association to work in collaboration with the administration to prevent further contaminations that could occurred in and around their areas of business.

Protect

He said their members had already taken measures and increased their level of responsibility to protect themselves, staff and customers from COVID-19. In fact, he said they had made significant efforts to create a safe environment for all staff, customers and others who may enter their outlets.
In terms of staff hygiene, he said they had ensured that they were all expected to adhere to the basic hygiene requirements of washing and or sanitising their hands as well as wearing of a face mask or face shield.

“Cashiers will not handle customers’ bank cards, but present the device for the customer to use.
“Once the customer has finished with the device, it will be sanitised,” Hlatshwayo said.
On the other hand, he said in terms of the hygiene of their outlets, they would disinfect their structures often. He said this would include disinfecting surface tops as well as high contact surfaces at least hourly.

Again, he said sanitisers would be placed at the entrance area of all outlets for all persons (customer and staff), who entered the outlets to sanitise their hands.

Condition

He said customers would be required to wear a face mask or appropriate item covering the nose and mouth as a condition of entering an outlet.
“Customers allowed in the outlet will be limited in number to ensure proper social distancing is observed and once the limit is reached, they would enforce a one person out, one person in system,” the secretary general said.

He added that sanitisers would be available for trolleys and/or baskets and large groups of people would not be permitted to shop together.
He said customers would be encouraged to finalise their purchase as soon as possible.

He explained that to ensure that customers were kept away outside the outlets, alcohol would be strictly and only sold for home use. He said sit-ins would not be allowed together with drinking whether individually or in groups outside the outlets.
He said customers would be monitored to ensure that they observe social distancing while queuing. He added that posters would be placed outside their outlets encouraging responsible and safe practices.

The secretary general said they had also planned that all liquor outlets owners should ensure that they provided basic guidelines and trainings to their staff on COVID-19 compliance requirements. On top of that, he said the staff members would be required to share information with customers on consuming at home and not sharing drinks.

In terms of value chain operations, he said in order to facilitate efficient stocking and to avoid large numbers in few outlets, they had proposed that the wholesale and distribution of liquor should begin from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Saturday and this would be open for licensed liquor traders only.

Legally

Regarding the enforcement of the guidelines, Hlatshwayo said the liquor licensing inspectors, police and other legally authorised law enforcement forces should be vigilant and enforce the full might of the law to anyone contravening the COVID-19 rules and regulations.

“Outlet owners and staff had already agreed that they would work in collaboration with the stakeholders to ensure that all trading guidelines are observed,” the secretary general said.

Again, he said they would use the COVID-19 hotline 977 for health-related questions and police toll-free line 999/9999 to report any violations of the rules.
In terms of public awareness, he said they would partner with government in educating consumers and the public at large on how to comply with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Ministry of Health guidelines. 

Meanwhile, Government Spokesperson Sabelo Dlamini said the selling of alcohol remained banned until further notice.
He said government’s focus was on containing the spread of the virus, to save lives and allow the economy to be revived.

Dlamini was asked if, according to government, the ban of alcohol sale was yielding the desired results of flattening the curve or not.
He was also asked about the SNLA verdict that the ban of alcohol sale did not work, based on the number of COVID-19 cases recorded during July 2020, when the distribution of  liquor was prohibited.

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