The Western Cape government welcomed the lifting of certain restrictions announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa last night but is still wanting clarity on the tourism sector.
Ramaphosa announced the further relaxation of restrictions on certain sectors of the economy such as personal care services, restaurants, accommodation, business conferences and meetings, and cinemas and theatres among others.
Read: Hotels, restaurants to reopen as restrictions ease
The tourism sector will slowly reopen, but more specifics are required.
‘We are particularly pleased that more tourism businesses will be able to operate as a result of this announcement, however, further clarity is required on whether this includes accommodation for leisure purposes and especially, whether intra-provincial travel for leisure purposes will be permitted. If not, then these businesses will not get the flow of customers they need to survive the COVID-19 crisis,’ said Western Cape Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier.
‘The opening of the George Airport under Alert Level 3 is also critical for business travellers working in the Garden Route District, and we once again call on national government to urgently consider allowing it to resume operations.
He explained that the tourism industry has been preparing for the resumption of business, with the development of health and safety guidelines and protocols aimed at ‘de-risking’ the sector.
‘Yesterday, I announced the launch of our COVID-19 Business Safety Kits, 11 000 of which will be distributed to SMMEs and informal traders across the Western Cape,’ said Maynier.
‘This is just one more way that we are working hard to support businesses, to save jobs and save the economy in the Western Cape during the COVID-19 crisis.
The Western Cape government has also placed a number of resources for employers and employees to reduce the risk of Covid-19 in the workplace, which can be found on their COVID-19 website.
‘For us to ensure that businesses remain open and more people get back to work, it is important that everyone adhere to the critical safety measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace,’ he said.
We will all have to pull together, and we will all have to work together, in the coming days, and weeks, and months because, in the end, it is up to all of us to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the Western Cape.’
For any questions on implementing safety guidelines in the workplace, and understanding the Alert Level regulations, businesses can email [email protected]
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