Colombo: Police in Sri Lanka have arrested 291 people for curfew violations to prevent spread of COVID-19.

They ranged from people who walked around in public spaces, some who were driving without a curfew pass and others who had gathered in vacant lots to consume alcohol.

The blanket countrywide curfew imposed on Friday is extended in the Colombo, Gampaha and Puttalam Districts until Tuesday morning.

It is lifted for the rest of the country on Monday but will be re-imposed the same afternoon.