City of Cape Town wants COVID capacity restrictions scrapped

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis recently wrote to the president and asked him to lift capacity restrictions for outdoor venues.

In a statement on Wednesday, 19 January, Hill-Lewis said that he wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa to ask that the “50% capacity rule” for outdoor public facilities be scrapped and that spectators be allowed to watch major sporting events.

SNAKING QUEUES AT SWIMMING POOLS

Hill-Lewis said the resumption of public, entertainment and sporting events should be prioritised, as it would aid the recovering economy, as the summer season reaches its peak, especially since the Omicron variant has “less of a negative impact” than Delta.

“The City of Cape Town has high-quality public swimming pools around the City, from the famous Sea Point Pavilion, to pools in Philippi, Bellville, Hanover Park, Mnandi, Khayelitsha, Newlands and Goodwood,” said the mayor.

ALSO READ: MSC Cruises: The need-to-know before you cruise

He added that the public swimming pools are very popular with families and thousands of people make use of them daily. However, many people do not make it into the facilities because of the capacity restrictions.

“At the moment, people are queuing from as early as 04:00 to get in, but we are forced to stagger the entry times to adhere to the 50% capacity rule. This often results in many people going home instead.”

CITY OF CAPE TOWN READY FOR FULL STADIUMS

The mayor said the India versus South Africa cricket tour, which is currently taking place in Cape Town, would benefit from crowds in the stands. The same applies to rugby and football matches scheduled at the Newlands and DHL stadiums.

“Since October last year, we have hosted the Cycle Tour, the ABSA Cape Epic, Miss SA, the Cape Town Marathon and the FNB One Run among others. All of these are high-profile and large events hosted successfully during a pandemic,” said Hill-Lewis.

The City of Cape Town, which is expected to host the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in September, said its experience with mid-pandemic sporting events show that the capacity restrictions can be removed and it has the data to back it up.

“With a large number of Cape Town residents vaccinated, adhering to mask-wearing where required, it is possible to safely return to having spectators at sport events, as can be seen at stadiums and events all over the world,” said Hill-Lewis.

By: Storm Simpson