Sri Lankan police have arrested 50 people on Wednesday for allegedly violating coronavirus regulations.
The police were instructed to arrest those who were not wearing masks and were not maintaining social distancing measures. The arrests were carried out under the instructions of Chief Inspector Prasad Fernando who is in charge of the Jaffna headquarters.
The personal details of those arrested were recorded before they were released on bail. The case against the accused will be heard in the Jaffna Magistrate's Court July 21 and 22.
Sri Lankan military and police officers have ramped up their deployment in the North-East as coronavirus infection rates remain high on the island. Tamil civil society groups have expressed their concerns over that the latest COVID-19 regulations, which are being used as a cover to deploy more military personnel in Tamil areas.