COLOMBO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Over 6,000 people have been arrested in Sri Lanka for violating a nationwide curfew which has been in place since March 20, the police said in a statement here Monday.
Police said 6,850 people were taken into custody 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 while intoxicated and engaging in trading, defying curfew rules.
Out of the total number, 850 were arrested within the past 24 hours alone.
Police said over 160 vehicles were also seized and all those arrested will be produced before local courts in the coming days.
Sri Lanka imposed a countrywide curfew on March 20, which was lifted for a few hours during last week in separate districts for people to re-stock essential items.
In capital Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara, in the outskirts, the curfew has been imposed indefinitely since March 24, as these areas have been declared 'high risk' areas for the virus.
Sri Lanka has to date detected 120 COVID-19 infected patients while 114 are under observation.
Over 10,000 are under quarantine in their homes and at the quarantine centers.
