South Australian police have clarified that bottle shops in SA will not be closed during the six-day lockdown after it was reported in the media for two hours that there would be a total bottle-o ban.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has stated that there will be “zero tolerance” for anyone who decides to panic-buy alcohol or any other goods, but that bottle shops will remain open for the duration of the lockdown.
At around 2pm, media outlets such as 7News published that there would be “no booze” for South Australians as they prepared to enter a “draconian” lockdown. This was based on information directly from the South Australian government, which informed that bottle shops will be included in the list of services that will close.
To double down on this, the SA government also forgot to include ‘bottle shops’ on its list of ‘critical services’ to remain open, but have since updated the information after two whole hours of absolute chaos.
If this was the case, lockdown in South Australia would be incredibly difficult, and far worse than the rules that were in place in Melbourne. Also, it would raise concerns for those with alcohol dependency, who rely on bottle shops.
7News and other news sources have since updated their articles, informing that South Australian police have been sure to clarify that bottle shops will stay open.
Lockdown in SA will become effective as of 11:59pm on Wednesday 18th, according to Premier Steven Marshall.
“As of midnight tonight we need our community to pause for six days. A series of wide-ranging restrictions will be implemented to significantly reduce mobility in the community to stop the spread, to stamp out this virus,” he said in a press conference today.
Once midnight hits, these will be the things that will shut down in South Australia:
- All schools and universities except for children of essential workers and vulnerable children.
- Pubs, cafes, coffee shops and food courts – INCLUDING takeaway.
- Elective surgery – with the exception of emergencies and cancer treatment.
- Open inspections.
- Outdoor sport.
- Factories.
- The construction industry.
- Aged care and disability residential care will be closed to visitors and in a hard lockdown.
Bottle shops however, will be remaining open, which is good news for everyone down in SA.
