Coronavirus: The countries banning alcohol or closing bars in response to second wave

Kenya on Monday banned the sale of alcohol in restaurants and ordered bars to remain closed after cases in the East African country doubled within the last three weeks, when the government began lifting restrictions.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, speaking in a televised address, also extended a nightly curfew for another 30 days. Earlier this month, Kenya began easing some economic and domestic travel restrictions. International travel into the country is set to restart on Saturday.

However, cases keep rising. Part of the rise in the caseload is attributed to increased testing. But some Kenyans have also called for the government to reimpose sweeping lockdowns. So far, Kenyatta has refused. "We cannot have a policeman at every street and in every village to enforce the rules," he said during his address on Monday.

Instead, the government has tailored its policies toward one context in which contact tracers say the virus is likely to spread: alcohol-fueled socialising, particularly among the young.

"My greatest concern at the moment is the aggressive surge of infections among young Kenyans who are in turn infecting their elders," Kenyatta said Monday. "Contact tracing of the recent surge of infections indicates that our socialising without regard for protective behaviour, particularly in environments serving alcohol, is becoming a high risk factor."

He continued: "Those are the people who have interpreted the de-escalation of the measures as a green light to pay no heed to the guidance by our health authorities. Their reckless actions are endangering those around them, and our whole country."

South Africa

South Africa, the continent's hardest-hit country by confirmed case count, also banned the sale and distribution of alcohol in March, early on in the global pandemic. It then lifted the rule in June as the country's strict lockdown eased, only to reimpose it on July 16, along with a nighttime curfew, as cases again began to climb. After initially flattening the curve, South Africa now has the world's fifth-highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases.

"There are a number of people who have taken to organising parties, who have drinking sprees, and some who walk around crowded spaces without wearing masks," South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his announcement.

The response among South Africans has been mixed, the BBC reported.

Ramaphosa said the return of the ban was needed to reduce pressure on hospitals, which were reaching capacity and turning away sick people. The government has cited as benefits reductions in domestic abuse, violence against women, and visits to the hospital for alcohol-fueled accidents.

South African bars and wineries, however, warned that they were on the financial brink. One opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters, criticised Ramaphosa for not going further and shutting down more businesses. The decision to just ban alcohol, it said in a statement, was an attempt to distract from other failed pandemic policies.

"Despite this, Ramaphosa continues to ignore pleas to prioritise life over profits, and keeps casinos, restaurants, hotels and domestic air-travel operational in the face of the death of the people of this country," the statement posted to Twitter read.

Lebanon

Lebanon acted fast to impose lockdowns during its initial coronavirus outbreak. The capital Beirut is beloved for its vibrant nightlife and bar scene, but the city's bars and restaurants remained quite for much of the spring before those that could still afford to were allowed to reopen in May.

The county's economy was already struggling before the pandemic, which pushed it into further decline. Nightlife venues, like other small businesses, are struggling to stay afloat, and starting July 30, they are set for a second shutdown.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong had been a pandemic poster child for its early and sustained efforts to contain, and basically beat, the novel coronavirus. Life, from bars to Barre class, was starting to settle into a new kind of normal.

But in recent weeks a sudden resurgence has sent alarm bells frantically ringing. Though the number of new cases still remains low compared to hotspots like the United States, Hong Kong's government has quickly reimposed restrictions on commerce, movement, and gatherings in public places.

From July 15 to August 4 - and possibly even longer, depending on how case numbers go - Hong Kong's bars and nightclubs are among the venues now closed.

Vietnam

After an outbreak in the city of Danang, Vietnam's capital Hanoi restricted gathering and closed pubs and bars Wednesday in an attempt to head off a wider crisis, Reuters reported.

"Over 21,000 people returned to Hanoi from Danang will be closely monitored and will undergo rapid testing," Nguyen Duc Chung, Hanoi's chairman, said in a statement.

The Washington Post