The Ethiopian police have detained 1, 887 people for an alleged violation of the state of emergency declared to stem the spread of coronavirus in the country.
Last month, the horn of Africa nation declared a health emergency which banned handshakes, made the wearing of face masks in public and physical distancing compulsory in public.
All the detainees were arrested in the capital Addis Ababa during raids by the police on Sunday night, the city’s police commission said in a briefing.
Those arrested were rounded up from bars, gambling houses, coffee shops as well as khat and shisha smoking houses for apparently flouting regulations prohibiting the gathering of more than four people at any one time.
According to the commission, 641 individuals were punished with jail terms ranging from 15 days to three months and a fine of up to $625.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia has recorded 73 new cases of coronavirus out of the 2, 844 laboratory tests conducted in the past 24 hours.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 655, according to a statement by the Ministry of health.
Out of the 73 cases, 49 are male and 24 are female, with the youngest being eight years old and the oldest 75 years, it said.
The statement indicated that 67 of the cases are Ethiopian citizens, while the remaining six are foreign nationals.
MG/as/APA