South Africa: salon owner with coronavirus charged with attempted murder

A 52-year-old hair salon owner from Ladysmith in South Africa has been charged with attempted murder after testing positive for the coronavirus and defying a doctor’s orders to self-quarantine.

Police say that he was putting the lives of others at risk, adding that he had previously been detained in hospital. 

The man allegedly continued his work as a hairdresser in the province of KwaZulu-Natal and interacted with 27 other people at a religious gathering. 

He was arrested on 24th March and is currently in hospital. 

Elsewhere, South Africans have been panic buying essential supplies ahead of a three-week lockdown that will come into effect on Friday. 

The country currently has 709 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the highest figure of any nation in Africa.

Photo: Reuters