Police were filmed using heavy-handed tactics to enforce the 21-day national lockdown in Johannesburg on Sunday. Footage filmed in the Hillbrow area of the city highlights scores of police descending on crowded areas and enforcing social distancing aggressively.
“Lockdown means lockdown,” yells one policeman as he throws a pair of women into the back of a police van for breaking lockdown rules to go and visit a friend.
The lockdown measures currently require all South Africans except for essential workers to stay at home other than for grocery shopping and seeking medical attention.
All bars and restaurants have shut down and all transportation of alcohol has been banned. The sale of alcohol and cigarettes were also banned, although lifting the cigarette ban is being discussed to deter illegal and underground sales.
South Africa has the highest number of cases on the African continent, though this number is due to the country testing extensively in comparison to other African nations.
South Africa is currently reporting 1,280 cases of COVID-19, with two deaths reported thus far.
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