Bars, shebeens and clubs were among the establishments raided by Police Minister Bheki Cele and law enforcement officials for contravening the Disaster Management Act.
Police shutting down Blackdoor Lifestyle Lounge is Sandton. The place was operating after 12h00am (packed beyond capacity), they could not present a liquor license and there was no appointed manager. Picture: @FaithMazibukoSA/Twitter
JOHANNESBURG – Police have made several arrests following O Kae Molao operations in Joburg in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Bars, shebeens and clubs were among the establishments raided by Police Minister Bheki Cele and law enforcement officials for contravening the Disaster Management Act.
One of the few sectors of the entertainment industry that have not yet received the go-ahead to reopen after the country’s hard lockdown are nightclubs, which are notorious for large crowds.
Blackdoor Lounge in Sandton was one of several establishments’ shutdown by police.
In addition to having no liquor license or a manager on duty, the club was packed beyond capacity and no patrons wore masks.
The minister said the club was also operating past curfew: “There were almost 300 people, no masks, no social distancing and breaking the law and it tells you that we won’t survive the second wave if it is here. Besides breaking the lockdown law, people are breaking the real law and being here after curfew.”
Just this week, 125 University of Fort Hare students tested positive for COVID-19, allegedly after they attended two parties at a tavern in East London.
While about 109 COVID-19 cases, most of them students, are linked to an event at a Claremont bar in Cape Town
