Nurses union endorses booze ban

Nurses on the front line have welcomed SA's renewed alcohol ban, urging South Africans not to see it as a punitive measure.

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA said President Cyril Ramaphosa's imposition of a revised level 3 lockdown will save the lives of many family members and those of health-care workers.

“We are particularly happy with the prohibition of sale of alcohol at retailers and for indoor consumption, as incidents out of these have led to a sizeable increase in emergencies at our health-care facilities.

“This decision will result in fewer trauma cases and thus open up bed space for Covid-related admissions.

“Denosa would like to plead with many South Africans to think of this decision as a gesture of appreciation of human life rather than a punitive decision.”

More than 400 health-care workers have succumbed to the virus, said the union.

It appealed for measures to be implemented to secure the safety of front-line health workers.

“That over 41,000 health-care workers have since been infected in both first and second waves is calamitous to say the least. That more than 430 health-care workers have been infected in the second wave alone is indicative of the disastrous position the health-care workers have been placed in due to this pandemic,” said Denosa.

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