By Linny Folau

Over 300 people have been arrested, mainly on Tongatapu, and charged for breaching the regulations under the Tonga Emergency Management Act since February 2.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Tevita Vailea said today, the 315 arrests were made from February 2 to March 22.

He said 178 had been charged for breaching the curfew, including movements during the night-time curfew. The rest were charged for not wearing masks and not keeping the social distancing required, especially in public areas.

This week

During the current one week 'hard lockdown' enforced for Tongatapu and Vava’u from 20-23 March, 19 people were arrested and charged for breaching restrictions.

“Police have checkpoints and patrols on the road but we are looking also at the movement of people within villages, including those in rural areas,” he said.

“We ask that people please stay at home and help us in our efforts to curb this virus. Our enforcement is to ensure our safety.”

Police are assisted by town and district officers and community patrols to report those who breached the lockdown restrictions in regards to movement within villages.

“In addition, we want to remind people that Police enforcement of the restrictions is for our safety. We can only return to normalcy if we are obedient, so we can reduce the number of those who contract the virus. It is all for our safety,” he said.

He said that those who had been charged will be dealt with by the Courts.