A night club in Port Elizabeth was closed down this weekend after Nelson Mandela Bay’s Metro Police found almost 1 000 people inside the establishment – with nobody adhering to COVID-19 regulations.
Officers also clamped down on various other establishments on Saturday, 31 October that were found to be non-compliant to COVID-19 regulations. This is in line with the Municipality’s new plan to flatten the alarming new COVID-19 infections.
According to Metro Police Head, Commissioner Yolande Faro, the officers targeted liquor outlets around Port Elizabeth and closed down six establishments in Central.
“We had a very successful operation this weekend and covered various kinds of crime with the help of the South African Police Service in some operations,” she said.
Six liquor outlets had to be closed down on Saturday in Central following a compliance inspection. Faro said Loxion Club, Posh Lounge, Moonlight Lounge, Captains Lounger, Destiny Lounge and Question Spot Bar were closed down due to non-compliance.
“Our police officers responded to another club complaint at Valley Club and Gallery Nightclub. There were big crowds outside and inside the establishments. There was overcrowding at Gallery Nightclub and on our arrival there were about 500 people outside; drinking and they were very noisy.
“It was young people between the ages of 14 and 23 years. Bottles were thrown on the ground for reasons unknown. Upon further investigation we found that there were about 1 000 people inside the establishment with no masks on, no social distancing and the owners failed to produce the certificate of population on demand.
“We closed the roads leading to the establishment immediately, the facility was closed down and a docket was opened at Humewood Police Station in contravention of the Disaster Management Act,” Faro explained.
On Friday, 30 October Metro Police also stopped and searched vehicles and did patrols at seven beach areas. “We removed illegal car guards from the Hobie Beach. We were satisfied to find six liquor outlets in compliance in Summerstrand and they closed at 12am.”
Faro said they will continue with these operations in partnership with other stakeholders when necessary. “Everyone needs to understand that COVID-19 is not over and they need to adhere to the regulations.”
