Times Of Swaziland: IS ALCOHOL REALLY COVID-19 RISK?

IS ALCOHOL REALLY COVID-19 RISK?
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The Editor on 30/06/2020 00:11:00


Sir,
I want to believe that our government smartly excogitated the matter regarding
the hike of COVID-19 cases since the unbanning of alcohol and other business
sectors being reopened. Alcohol, I declare, is one of the leading factors we are
about to reach 1 000 COVID-19 positive people in the country.
Nonetheless, are we really blaming alcohol as a major cause of the rapid growth
of new infections or is it the irresponsible behaviour of citizens of this
country, who drink alcohol irresponsibly? Not only do they share it among
themselves but drink it and behave like two-year-old children in the process,
thus accelerating the spread of the virus.
Suffer
The innocent and poor emaSwati who are making a living through selling alcohol
to irresponsible people are now going to suffer the consequences of people who
fail to drink alcohol responsibly. What will become of the families who solely
rely on alcohol sales survive? This means that a family out there will go to bed
without food.
Challenge
What is the challenge of buying liquor and take it home to quench your thirst?
What has become of this generation; drinking alcohol in public and, worse,
sharing it among themselves knowing very well that we all are living in limbo
because of COVID-19 as it is persistently and continuing to strike.
The banning of alcohol by government should ring a warning bell to alcohol
consumers, particularly those who drink to loiter around and show off their
state of sobriety to the whole world. The two months ban of alcohol could have
been really avoided.
Listen
People, the beautiful citizens of Eswatini, must learn to listen. The only thing
that made Noah and his descendants survive the flood that killed everything was
that they listened. Let us not punish other people’s lives because of our
irresponsibility.
Together we stand but divided we fall. I am hopeful that when the sale of
alcohol resumes we will have people who are responsible enough to love their
neighbours, friends and families by imbibing alcohol responsibly.
Wakhe Simelane