New Covid variant: South Africa bans alcohol sales, tightens curfew in latest restrictions

Johannesburg - President says cabinet had decided to move the country to level 3 restrictions from level 1.

South Africa on Monday tightened Covid-19 restrictions, banning alcohol sales and extending a nationwide curfew, as infections shot through the one million mark owing to a faster-spreading variant of the disease discovered in the country.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address that cabinet had decided to move the country to level 3 restrictions from level 1. This would include the total banning of alcohol sales, widespread cancelling of events, and making the wearing of masks in public a legal requirement.