A 52-year-old hair salon owner in the South African town of Ladysmith has been charged with attempted murder for defying a doctor’s order to self-quarantine, police say.
He had tested positive and had put the lives of others at risk, police said, adding that he had been detained in hospital.
Police say the man from Ladysmith in the province of KwaZulu-Natal continued with his work and interacted with 27 other people at a religious gathering.
The man was arrested on 24 March and is currently in hospital.
Meanwhile, South Africans have been panic buying ahead of a three-week lockdown that comes into force on Friday.