More than 1,000 arrests in one day for contravening lockdown laws

30 March 2020 - 12:23 By Orrin Singh

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KZN provincial commissioner Lt Gen Khombinkosi Jula looks on as a soldier arrests a man in Inanda, north of Durban, for illegally operating a spaza shop on Monday.
Image: Sandile Ndlovu

More than 1,000 people were arrested in SA on one day for not complying with regulations relating to the national lockdown.

Coronavirus: SA by Tiso Blackstar Group - Infogram

Police minister Bheki Cele said this on Monday.

Cele said 1,108 people were arrested in the country on Saturday, and those who continued to ignore strict regulations would face the full might of the law.

Cele, accompanied by national police commissioner Khehla Sitole, addressed journalists at the KwaMashu Shopping Centre, north of Durban, where hundreds of people had queued to collect their social grants.

[WATCH] Hundreds gather outside the gates of Superspar at the KwaMashu Shopping Centre, north of Durban, where police restrict the number of people allowed through the gates to collect their social grants @TimesLIVE #LockdownSA #Covid19inSA pic.twitter.com/Cgcxc5UdnK
— Orrin Singh (@orrin417) March 30, 2020

South Africa's police minister, Bheki Cele, joined members of the SA National Defence force (SANDF) and SA Police Service (SAPS) in Khayelitsha on March 28 2020 to help curb the spread of Covid-19. Several people were arrested for breaking the country's lockdown rules during the operation.

“We will continue to nudge them towards compliance. We will push them when the need comes. The regulations that are there must be respected.”

Despite police restricting the number of people allowed into the centre, social distancing remained a major concern.

Cele said this was the first payout since payday and the government would use this as an opportunity to learn about what they needed to implement in future.

On March 26 2020, is the start of a new period of uncertainty as South Africans adapt to life under a nationwide lockdown in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Here are some of the answers to your 'leaving home' questions.