Lockdown level 3: Casinos set to reopen at 50% capacity

The Minister of Tourism in South Africa hosted a virtual media briefing Friday evening, 26 June, to outline the amendment to regulations for casinos under level 3.

This comes after Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, on Thursday signed and gazetted an amendment to the regulations, and after President Cyril Ramaphosa a week ago gave the go-ahead for these sectors to open.

CAPACITY AND SOCIAL DISTANCING

Minister Kubayi-Ngubane said –

“the number of persons entering a casino shall not be more than 50% based on the available floor space of the gambling floor and must adhere to the requirements related to physical distancing”.

Social distancing protocol stipulates a distance of at least 1.5 metres. In addition, the minister added that “record-keeping is once again required”. As per the guidelines provided, the record should include all employees, delivery agents and customers.

GUEST QUESTIONNAIRE

It will be compulsory for casino venues that open on Monday to adhere to protocols pertaining to masks and sanitisation. Casino personnel need to “conduct a questionnaire for every guest” as well. The questionnaire must be “in the format of the form issued with the directions and take precautionary measures to protect guests and others on the premises.” These measures may also include “denying a guest access to the premises,” the statement adds.

SCREENING, SANITISATION AND MASKS

The statement issued by Minister Kubayi-Ngubane stipulates that no customers will be allowed to enter casino premises if they are not wearing a cloth mask or suitable homemade item. Guests must wear masks at all times, except when eating or drinking. Furthermore, masks or homemade face coverings must cover the nose and mouth. In addition to the above, guests must sanitise before entering the casino premises, and must frequently sanitise throughout their stay; casinos must provide guests with sanitisers for frequent use.

All guests and personnel must maintain a distance of 1.5 metres between open machines. Gambling machines and all surfaces touched must be sanitised after every use, and sanitisers must be made available for this purpose.

TRAINING OF PERSONNEL

Employers must train employees and delivery personnel on COVID-19 health protocols, and provide information as issued by the Minister of Health on a regular basis.

The following topics should be covered:

• The procedures related to the use, reuse and wearing of masks
• The utilisation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• How to keep physical distance
• Basic hygiene practises including the washing of hands
• Cleaning and disinfecting of equipment and surfaces and gambling machines
• Contactless payments and operations
• Package handling
• Handling of orders and delivery to customers.

LEISURE TRAVEL STILL BANNED UNDER LOCKDOWN LEVEL 3

The minister also announced that leisure travel (including hotel-stays on casino premises) is still forbidden:

“When we say leisure we talk about a holiday. So leisure is not yet allowed. So I can’t go with my family and children to book into a hotel for a weekend. It’s still not allowed.”

One of the controversial announcements made during the briefing was that alcohol cannot be consumed at restaurants.

Source: thesouthafrican.com

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