Govt warns bars ‘pretending’ to be eateries

Health CAS Dr Rashid Aman on Wednesday warned bars operating under the guise of eateries that they are breaking the law.

While giving the daily Covid-19 update, Dr Aman said some bars have reopened and are selling alcohol.

He added that all those found flouting the rules will face the full force of the law and their licenses will be revoked.

This is after it emerged that some bars, claiming to be eateries, have been selling alcohol to their customers.

In recent days, word has been going round that the government is contemplating banning the consumption of alcohol in public places due to the rising numbers of positive cases.

Public Health Director Dr Francis Kuria on Tuesday refused to be drawn into a notice on the ban on alcohol consumption in public.

The draft document had been widely shared on social media but Dr Kuria said it does not have a legal notice number.

“We cannot talk about a notice that has no legal notice number. It's a draft that should be under the office of the AG.

“Once it becomes a legal document then we can discuss it further,” he said.

The draft states that alcoholic drinks will not be sold to sit-in customers in restaurants and anyone who goes against that will have committed an offense.

It further states that any business establishment that sells alcohol shall operate between 9am and 7.30pm.

On Wednesday, the government announced 637 new cases from 4275 samples that were tested.

This takes the national tally to 14805 cases.

Out of the 637, 361 are male while 276 are female. Unfortunately, 10 more patients have succumbed to the virus. The number of fatalities is now at 260.

On a rather positive note, there were 499 recoveries in the last 24 hours, pushing the number of total recoveries to 6757.

CAS Aman also rubbished talk that there was a looming cabinet lockdown saying the government provides essential services and any guidelines introduced are meant to ensure everyone is safe.