DURBAN - KwaZulu-Natal police have arrested more than 1 700 people who failed to comply with Covid-19 safety regulations during level 3 lockdown.
On Monday, provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said 1 763 people were arrested for contravening level 3 lockdown regulations in the province, during operations conducted from June 16 to 27, 2021.
Naicker said co-ordinated multidisciplinary operations were being conducted simultaneously across the province. They focussed on hot spots as well as areas where reports of non-compliance had been received.
Police arrested 1 025 persons in various public spaces for not wearing a mask.
Naicker said 592 people were arrested for failing to confine to their residence during the curfew while 137 were arrested for selling or consuming liquor in a public space.
KZN Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi expressed concern that many people in the province had been arrested daily for ignoring the adjusted alert level 3 lockdown regulations despite pleas from government and the health sector for compliance.
“Since the announcement of the latest level 3 lockdown regulations, we have stepped up our daily operations focused on ensuring that all the citizens in the province comply with the regulations to stem the spread of the Covid-19 virus,” he said.
Following president Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Sunday night that South Africa would, from Monday, move to adjusted Alert Level 4 lockdown for 14 days, Mkhwanazi appealed to the public to comply with the regulations.
“We are once again urging citizens to comply with the regulations as law enforcement officers continue to work around the clock with all other government departments to protect communities from being exposed to the Covid-19 virus,” he said.
The SAPS is appealing to anyone with information with regard to contraventions of the adjusted alert level 4 lockdown regulations to contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or report contraventions anonymously via the MySAPSApp.
THE MERCURY