Every industry has suffered a huge blow due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak that started in late 2019. It took only a few months from the beginning of the outbreak in Wuhan, China for it to become recognized as a pandemic.
Aside from novel coronavirus having a huge impact on the health of individuals around the world, it also changed virtually every industry.
Non-essential shops started closing down, travel restrictions were imposed, and large gatherings of people were banned. There are currently more than 200 countries that have reported at least one case of COVID-19, but some of the worst hit regions include Spain and Italy.
Because of the high number of cases in these two countries, they were forced to temporarily put a halt on most activities and close down all non-essential stores.
Italy suffered serious problems caused by the rapid spread of novel coronavirus. In response to the sudden spread of COVID-19 in Italy, the government imposed a national quarantine on March 9.
They promptly closed down all non-essential shops and businesses. For nearly two months, citizens were allowed to leave only for work or to go to the pharmacy or supermarket.
On April 2, Italy’s Agenzia Dogane Monopoli (ADM) declared that they would be suspending retail lottery sales of Millionday and 10e Lotto because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lotteries like SuperEnalotto also had to cancel their draws toward the end of March.
The novel coronavirus had a huge negative impact on businesses across Italy in March and April. There were many lives lost, and people had to remain in their homes. Now, citizens are able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Wholesalers, construction companies, and manufacturing have started working once again, and parks reopened across the country at the beginning of May.
Like most businesses in Italy, SuperEnalotto started working once again on May 5. It is currently back to its old schedule, which means that they hold three draws per week – on Tuesday, Thursdays, and Sundays.
Just like before, you can now follow lottery draw results and even buy tickets on the internet. Smaller lotteries in Italy have also started running automated draws on May 5, after a 6-week suspension.
These lotteries include Millionday, 10e Lotto, Winforlife, and Winforline Vincicasa. Not too long ago, you could go only to the pharmacy or supermarket. But now you can even visit your favorite local shop to check the Italian national lottery draw results.
Along with shopping malls, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and other businesses, the Spanish state-owned lottery operator known as SELAE (Sociedad Estatal Loterías y Apuestas del Estado) declared that it was suspending all ticket sales across the country. The lotto draws were cancelled in Spain, which meant that players couldn’t even buy tickets online.
In Spain, shops have slowly started to reopen in cities where the situation caused by COVID-19 has improved, although they have to follow special guidelines and put extraordinary security measures in place.
Because the worst is presumably over, it was recently announced that some lotteries resumed on May 18. This means that people are once again able to buy their lottery tickets both in shops and online. Meanwhile, La Primitiva (Sunday Lotto) will have its first draw on Sunday, May 31.
And in South Africa, lottery tickets can only be bought online. Towards the end of April, all retailers in South Africa were given instructions not to sell lotto tickets to anyone.
This rule was put in place to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus and will be lifted as soon as the situation in the country has improved.
It’s safer for players to limit their contact with other people. For now, you can only buy essential products from your local retailers. Only recently were residents permitted to buy winter clothing to prepare for the cold months ahead.
Restaurants in SA are open only for takeaway deliveries, while the ban on alcohol and cigarettes is still in effect.