A 23-year-old man from Pretoria has been arrested after a video of him mocking lockdown regulations went viral.

Police arrested a man for contravening the Regulations of the Disaster Management Act 2002 after snippets of a video in which two young men were seen travelling around Pretoria and continuously making light of efforts being made to curb the spread of COVID-19 was shared online.

“In one of the snippets, one man appears to be standing in front of a police station and continued swearing about the virus. This matter was investigated and the suspect was traced and found inside a residential complex in the Lyttelton policing area,” said the South African Police Service in a Facebook post.

“The suspect is likely to face charges of at least contravening Regulation 11B of the Disaster Management Act 2002. He is currently in police custody and he is expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrates Court tomorrow,” said the South African Police Service.

The man arrested is among at least six other suspects who have been arrested for creating such videos or sharing fake news.

Residents are being urged to take the virus seriously as thousands around the world have already lost their  lives to the pandemic.

Read more: Western Cape COVID-19 cases reach 446

Picture: Unsplash

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