South Africa to re-impose ban on sale of alcohol to reduce trauma patients

President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa has said that the country will immediately re-impose ban on the sale of alcohol to reduce the volume of trauma patients so that hospitals have more beds to treat COVID-19 patients, according to a news report by Deccan Chronicle.

Confronted by surging hospitalizations due to the coronavirus, South Africa is also reinstating a night curfew to reduce traffic accidents and made it mandatory for all residents to wear face masks when in public.

Ramaphosa has said that top health officials warn of impending shortages of hospital beds and medical oxygen as South Africa reaches a peak of COVID-19 cases, expected between the end of July and September.

South Africa's rapid increase in reported cases has made it one of the world's centers for COVID-19, as it is ranked as the 9th country most affected by the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The country has reported increases of more than 10,000 confirmed cases for several days and the latest daily increase was nearly 13,500.

South Africa accounts for 40 percent of all the confirmed cases in Africa, with 264,184, including 3,971 deaths, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday.

South Africa imposed one of the world's strictest lockdowns in April and May, including closing virtually all mines, factories and businesses, and a ban on sales of liquor and cigarettes.

The measures slowed the spread of the coronavirus but South Africa's economy, already in recession, contracted dramatically, increasing unemployment above 30 percent and hunger.