On April 17, the South African government announced that the sale of alcohol during the outbreak of COVID 19 was banned in South Africa.

The statement said President Cyril ramaphosa had carefully considered the appeals of those involved in the industry. However, these must be weighed against the imperatives of all South African businesses and citizens, with a view to complying with national home segregation requirements. Given the health effects of alcohol consumption and ensuring national home segregation are currently considered top priorities in South Africa, alcohol is not considered an essential commodity or item and is considered to affect the population's ability to overcome the new coronavirus.

Ramaphosa again drew attention to the potential for smes in the alcohol trade to suffer economic losses during this period by drawing attention to the relief services provided by the ministry of sme development, the tourism relief fund, the unemployment insurance fund and private institutions such as the South African future trust fund. These funds and institutions provide capped grant assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises to ensure sustainable development during this period and to support their employees.

South africans are fond of alcohol, and there have been a number of looting of liquor stores in many parts of South Africa because of a ban on alcohol after the country's home quarantine.