More than 20 000 South Africans arrested for breaking new Level 3 adjustments

This comes after over 20 000 people have been arrested and/or fined for contravention the new Adjusted Level 3 Lockdown regulations that came into effect on 29 December 2020.

Cele has revealed in a statement that 7 455 citizens were arrested for not wearing masks in public.

“These arrests were made despite people being told continuously to wear their masks. Wearing a mask is mandatory and people caught without one in public, are committing an offence. The wearing of masks is both for your safety and the safety of others around you.” says Cele.

A further 834 people were arrested for the sale, dispensing, distribution and transporting of alcohol.

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The minister is now pleading with South Africans to heed government’s call to adhere to the adjusted lockdown regulations.

“I want to stress the point that the law enforcement agencies do not enjoy making these arrests as these laws are there to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus that’s ravaging our country. However, officers of the SAPS are left with no choice but to act in the interest of saving lives,

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Therefore, I urge everyone who resides within our borders to respect the laws of this land. The regulations are among our arsenal against this deadly virus and failure to comply with them, certainly will result in more people being infected and more lives being lost,” he says.

Cele revealed further that more than 342 000 people have been arrested for contravening the Disaster Management Act since the start of the National Lockdown in March 2020.