Covid-19: Bar, restaurants to close as rand continues to slide

Bars and restaurants have been ordered to close at night and limit the number of patrons to below 50 people during the day in a bid to contain the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Bloomberg reported that the government, which has already shut most international flight routes and closed schools, gazetted the order on Wednesday.

Bars and restaurants that sell liquor must remain closed from 6pm to 9am, it said.

The rand breached its weakest closing level on record on Wednesday as investors priced in the probability of a central-bank rate cut amid the global risk sell-off.

The currency of Africa’s most-industrialised country weakened as much as 2.5% to 17.0396 per dollar, surpassing the 16.8717 closing level of January 18, 2016. It’s still some way off the intraday weakest level of 17.9169 reached during a “flash crash” in Asian trading hours that same month.

Money markets are pricing in 53 basis points of easing by the South African Reserve Bank on Thursday, even after data showed consumer inflation climbed above the 4.5% midpoint of the target range for the first time in 15 months in February.

The plunge in oil prices should moderate price increases in March.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday the department of small business development is set to “unleash” an estimated R1 billion support package to assist small, micro and medium-sized businesses to produce more of the critical consumer goods needed for the effective control of the Covid-19 and to manage possible supply shortages.

Read: Covid-19: Small business development minister expected to announce R1bn support package

In the meantime, the desperate need for a vaccine to curb the respiratory infection is driving research and development with more than 24 companies estimated to be in the race.

Apart from the life-saving impact of an effective Covid-19 vaccine, these new technologies and approaches are expected to also inform future scientific research on badly needed vaccines for HIV and tuberculosis.

Read: Covid-19: The urgent, but long race for a vaccine 

– Bloomberg

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