Roads in Johannesburg are essentially empty during the national 21-day lockdown imposed by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The lockdown aims to combat the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus and requires all citizens to stay in their homes from 26 March to 16 April.

Emergency services, security services, and other essentials services workers are allowed to continue with their work.

Additionally, citizens may still leave their homes if they are buying food, seeking medical attention, or making use of other essential services.

A MyBroadband reader provided us with drone footage of Rosebank in Johannesburg which shows the normally bustling hub virtually empty, with only a few cars and pedestrians travelling through the area.

The footage was taken on Monday 30 March, around Jan Smuts Avenue. Watch the aerial footage below.

N1 traffic and police crackdown

The entire country has seen a sharp decline in vehicle and pedestrian traffic following the implementation of the lockdown.

On the first day, the N1 freeway between Pretoria and Johannesburg was all but empty at 09:00, when traffic is usually high.

A handful of trucks were driving in either direction, along with a low number of passenger vehicles. Traffic police and other law enforcement vehicles were also seen driving along the freeway.

Hours after the lockdown first came into effect, however, several people had been arrested for breaching restrictions on alcohol sales and public gatherings.

55 people were arrested on the first day, according to Minister of Police Bheki Cele.

He added that following the start of the lockdown, 172 roadblocks had been put up in South Africa – with just under 24,000 SA police officers, metro police, and “other enforcers” manning them.

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