News24 Gauteng police have arrested 148 people and issued warnings to 25 others for failing to adhere to lockdown regulations in place since the start of the 21-day lockdown in the country on Friday.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela said alleged offences included gatherings more than 50 people.
“About 59 of them were arrested for refusing to confine themselves in their homes. Many were arrested for dealing and trading in liquor. Some were caught red-handed selling liquor to customers.
“We have arrested them and their customers. We have also arrested taxi operators [for working] beyond their operation times and some for overloading,” he said.
He added that police are strengthening the number of officers and resources to ensure that Gauteng complies with the regulations.
At the time of publication, Gauteng had 545 positive cases of the novel coronavirus – the highest number in the country. The latest national figures are yet to be released but figures announced on Saturday is 1 187.
“We will apply zero tolerance to those disregarding our regulations. We have observed people who continue trading in liquor and those participating in street gatherings. We call on them to respect and recognise our regulations.
“We have identified 43 major and secondary roads where there is a high volume of movement and we have prioritised 11 of them leading to other provinces.
“We will employ 24/7 lockdown roadblocks supported by the SANDF (SA National Defence Force). In other municipal roads, we will apply soft-blocks. This is a matter of life and death,” said Mawela.
