Over 10,000 arrested in Sri Lanka for violating curfew

Police in Sri Lanka said on Friday said over 10,000 people had been arrested from across the country for violating an island-wide curfew which has been in place since March 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, the police said this included over 500 people being arrested within the past 24 hours alone for loitering on the roads, gathering and consuming alcohol at public grounds, travelling by vehicle on the roads, keeping restaurants open, behaving in an unruly manner on the roads and engaging in trading, defying curfew rules, reports Xinhua news agency.

Over 2,087 vehicles were also seized and all those arrested will be produced before local courts in the coming days.

Sri Lanka imposed the curfew on March 20, which was lifted for a few hours last week in separate districts for people to re-stock on essential items.

In capital Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara, in the outskirts, the central highlands of Kandy and the island's north, the curfew has been imposed indefinitely since March 24, as these areas have been declared "high risk" areas from the virus.

Sri Lanka has detected 151 COVID-19 infected patients, out of which 22 have recovered and been discharged, while 125 are under observation in designated hospitals.

The death toll currently stands at four. Over 10,000 are under isolation in their homes and at quarantine centres.