Man to be charged with attempted murder for breaching coronavirus regulations

South Africa prepares to go into lockdown as coronavirus cases top 700. (Reuters)

A salon owner in South Africa has been charged with attempted murder for defying orders to self-quarantine.

According to the police, the 52-year-old man, who had tested positive for coronavirus had put the lives of others at risk.

BBC reported that the man from Ladysmith in the province of KwaZulu-Natal continued with his work and interacted with 27 other people at a religious gathering.

He was arrested on March 24 and is currently being detained at a hospital.

South Africa’s confirmed Covid-19 cases rose to 709 on Wednesday, the health minister Zweli Mkhize announced.

The number of confirmed cases has been on the rise since the country announced its first case this month.

Following the surge in the number of coronavirus cases, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country would enforce a 21-day lockdown.

In a televised address to the nation, Ramaphosa said the lockdown would begin at midnight on Thursday and called on the country to "urgently and dramatically" escalate its response.

South Africans have been panic buying ahead of the lockdown.

The country has the highest number of confirmed cases in sub-Saharan Africa.

The public health experts are worried that the virus could overwhelm the health system if infection rates rise steeply.