Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel. Image via: flickr
Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel. Image via: flickr
Following Monday’s announcement that you won’t be able to purchase hot foods at supermarkets anymore, many South African’s bemoaned the increasingly stringent lockdown regulations that continue to be handed down.
On Tuesday 21 April, Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel clarified the reason for the ban, saying that the hot food counters were drawing too many people to stores. The department want to ensure that there is minimal traffic entering confined spaces to ensure that the virus cannot spread rampantly.
‘I knew I’d get roasted for this’
Patel said that “enormous” numbers of people were flocking to get their hands on a cooked meal.
“Across the country, we have enormous numbers of places selling hot foods and this would create huge numbers of people moving out of bounds to get hot foods and those are vectors of transmission,” he said.
He added that the decision did not only apply to large supermarkets but also fast food outlets driving township economies.
Speaking to Eusebius McKaiser on Radio 702 on Tuesday, Patel outlined exactly what the thinking behind the decision to ban hot food is based on.
“I knew I was going to be roasted in this discussion,” he joked.
“The regulations were put in place for only the most basic essential items to be purchased” he said. “In this phase, it’s about trying to limit the movement of people and put in place a risk-adjusted approach for the next phase.”
“We are looking at COVID-19 measures for many months, and the scientists have told us that the high point may only come in September. The lockdown is about preparing for that.”
Long waiting time for cooked food
McKaiser asked whether it was necessary for the measure to be put in place since people would inevitably travel to stores to buy other basic goods anyways.
“When I go to my supermarket, I order hot foods and I place my order, before staying in the supermarket longer than I need to. Then you have queues out the door.”
“You count all the people going to stores, getting in taxis etc, who then spend more time in close quarters than is necessary.”
Businesses will reopen at the appropriate time
McKaiser posited the notion that the Department of Trade and Industry “did not trust the South African consumer”.
Patel said that while the economy would ultimately have to reopen, it was imperative at this delicate stage of the transmission process that his department ensured that people remain as safe as possible.
“It’s vital that we don’t leave out businesses in the informal sector and township enterprises. We are looking at enhancing measures that will make it possible for more businesses to operate,” he said. “We have already done such things on the grounds of equity with spaza shops, amending the regulations so they can operate.”
He said that stores unable to operate in the townships, where revenue streams to desperate housegholds are being severed, will be given the opportunity to reopen at the safest possible time.
“It’s not about only whether the lady selling vetkoeks can maintain an appropriate hygiene routine, it’s about the movement of people. The more people you open up, the greater the flow of people.
“That will improve the situation of economic service providers in townships and elsewhere, but we have to balance that against the speed of transmission.”
“Countries like Italy and Spain took a more relaxed initial approach and have registered huge numbers of deaths. They are saying ‘don’t do what we did’.
