In an effort to make customers aware of the international drive to get people vaccinated against Covid-19, certain Stellenbosch pubs recently implemented the ‘Jabbed to Jol’ campaign at some events.
The pubs involved in the initiative are Aandklas and Dorp, according to Marcus Oosthuizen, co-founder of both pubs. South African artist, PHFAT, performed at the first ‘Jabbed to Jol’ event, which was held on 17 September at Aandklas, said Oosthuizen in email correspondence with MatieMedia.
“At events, if you wanted to enter either Aandklas or Dorp, you would have to prove [you have had] your first vaccination or a positive Covid-19 test older than 14 days, and not older than 2 months,” said Oosthuizen.
Those who receive a positive Covid-19 test have to wait a minimum of 30 days before receiving the vaccine, according to a media statement published by Discovery. For this reason, a positive test within the aforementioned time frame can be used to gain access to ‘Jabbed to Jol’ events.
The Stellenbosch branch of the South African Police Service (SAPS) monitors the queue outside Dorp on 11 August. “Our business is built on people being in close proximity to one another, and therefore we support any initiative to get us back to life without a mask,” according to Marcus Oosthuizen, the co-founder of the Aandklas and Dorp pubs, on the ‘Jabbed to Jol’ initiative. PHOTO: Maryam Adams
The response to the event on 17 September was positive, and the venue was at capacity, according to Oosthuizen. Similarly, an event held at Dorp the same evening was fully booked, he said.
“All our staff at Aandklas and Dorp who worked that evening were vaccinated,” said Oosthuizen.
Views on the initiative
“I find [the initiative] interesting as a means of encouraging vaccination, not much else,” said Willie Rossouw, a patron of Aandklas. “Bars are not exactly known for their social distancing.”
Other establishments have elected not to institute initiatives relating to vaccination, according to Bertus Bekker, the manager at Bohemia pub in Stellenbosch.
“We are a business. We are here to have a good time and that’s all we stand for. We don’t want to get involved with being vaccinated or not vaccinated. We don’t want to get involved with social movements,” said Bekker. “We don’t think it’s our right to judge people on their opinion.”
Fool’s Gold Social Bar has indicated that they will not be running a similar campaign at this point, according to Dane Hong, owner of the bar.
“The hospitality, tourism and live music industries were drastically affected by the pandemic, and we know that the benefit of herd immunity will have a limited effect on us operating in the future,” says Oosthuizen. “Bottom line, the more people vaccinated, the smaller the impact on our industry,” he added.
Marcus Oosthuizen, co-founder of Aandklas and Dorp, feels that since students have been able to get vaccinated against Covid-19, there has been an increase in support from customers at both pubs. “[Our customers] want the social environment to go back to normal, where they can see their favourite band live and dance into the early mornings without a mask,” said Oosthuizen. PHOTO: Maryam Adams