Lockdown Day 58 - 2020-05-24 01:56:26 +0000
So news this side of the world… There are talks of not lifting the Tobacco & Alcohol ban until stage 1…
So to elaborate, in a moronic move the South African government decided that tobacco products (and for some reason vapes/e-cigarettes are considered tobacco products) as well as alcohol would be banned; in an attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19. Their logic was that if people can’t drink and smoke, then they wouldn’t try and party. Well that is the gist of their reasoning anyways.
The ban on tobacco was to be lifted on the 1st of May, after our president Cyril Ramaphosa announced that it would be lifted. This was quickly overturned by Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister - note, not higher ranked as far as the order of power goes). The ban was again addressed that come level 3, which is an ease of lockdown restrictions, would be lifted.
Today the news came out with reports that Dlamini-Zuma is at it again and wants the ban on these products to not be lifted until level 1, which at this time could possibly not be this year. The ban has only created a bigger market in the illegal trade of cigarettes which before the lockdown started was costing the country billions in lost taxes, we can only imagine how much is being lost now due to these decisions.
I am not one for jumping on the conspiracy band-wagon, but it is starting to look a lot like a certain minister may be profiting off of the illegal trade that is busy happening….
COVID-19 stats as of 23rd May:
- Here:
- Confirmed: 21’343
- Deaths: 407
- World:
- Confirmed: 5.29M
- Deaths: 341K