Cape Town residents lining-up outside a liquor store in Green Point after a hoax message that alcohol sales was about to be banned again went viral.
Rumours that had surfaced alleging that the ban on the sale of alcohol would be reinstated on Tuesday evening, were not true.
This was according to Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) spokesperson Lungi Mtshali, who confirmed to News24 that the rumours were nothing more than “fake news”.
Mtshali added that these rumours appeared to benefit the alcohol industry and that as people started to rush to stock up at bottle stores, issues of physical distancing arose.
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Following the emergence of a voice note doing the rounds on WhatsApp, as well as several messages circulating on social media, people were pictured making their way to a number of bottle stores around the country on Tuesday, fearing that the ban could be reintroduced, just a week after it had been lifted.
More to follow.
A queue almost 30 metres long snaking outside of the Tops in Robindale, Johannesburg. (Janetha du Toit, Supplied)
