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Municipal Correspondent
SOME bars and night clubs are still operating in defiance of lockdown regulations, opening behind closed doors.

In some instances, they are reportedly bribing security personnel on patrols who will tip them off whenever they suspect that they are being tracked.

Under the lockdown regulations, almost from the beginning, supermarkets and bottle stores were allowed to keep selling alcoholic drinks.

Bars and night clubs were closed before the national lockdown, but after a very brief ban on alcohol sales at the start of the lockdown, supermarkets and licensed bottle stores were permitted to resume selling during the hours permitted for food shops, which have gradually been extended from six hours a day to eight-and-a-half hours a day, but with all exempted shops to be closed by 4.30pm.

Restaurants have also been allowed to open, but only to sell takeaways.

The regulations do not want people to eat or drink in public and thus increase infection risks.

But on the ground, there are bars and nightclubs defying the order, with imbibers being sneaked in.

In Domboshava on the north eastern edges of Harare, bars are open and the drinkers ignoring social distancing rules and public masking.

At the Showground area, Brojoe Rest and Night Club on Thursday afternoon, huddled a group of young men without maintaining social distancing, while another was running a braai.

Just close by, there were imbibers consuming the pernicious brews commonly referred to as Zed and Teku Teku.

At Shumbahuru sports bar at the same place, sellers were only serving known and regular customers, who were being sneaked inside the bar.

Our reporter managed to enter after a local person helped with the introductions.

Inside the bar, people were watching television, while exchanging mugs of opaque beer, a fairly blatant breach of several Covid-19 guidelines.

Only a few were enjoying pints.

The scene was the same at Bluestar Bar where people were also being sneaked in.

At Mverechena, it was as if the national lockdown had never been ordered, with commercial sex workers and other imbibers enjoying their drinks in broad daylight in bars dotted at the centre.

In Chitungwiza, Chibhanguza Bar in Zengeza 2 and Skywalker Bar in Zengeza 3 were bustling with drinkers yesterday evening, while others parked their vehicles outside enjoying their beers.

Many other bars, lodges and night clubs have been doing business as usual in Chitungwiza, with regulars at Chirenje Bar in Unit M being allowed to buy beer from as early as 8am, while the bar resorts to operating behind closed doors from early evening until 11.30pm.