Botswana further extends curfew to February 28 — Pedestrians walk through the central business district of Gaborone, Botswana, on Monday, May 14, 2018. Botswanas new leader, President Mokgweetsi Masisi, wants to shrink the civil service, sell state companies and cut red tape as he targets increased foreign investment. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Botswana announced a further extension of night curfew to Feb. 28 following revelations that risks posed by COVID-19 have increased in the southern African country.

The restriction on movement of persons shall continue to apply from 20:00 and 04:00 (1800-0200 GMT) daily, President Mokgweetsi Masisi announced in a notice given through the government gazette published Friday.

During this curfew period, a person shall be required to carry a movement permit at times when movement is restricted. The sale and consumption of liquor in public places shall continue to be suspended, as the two activities are regarded as super spreaders of the global pandemic, said Masisi.

Botswana announced a curfew last December and then extended the curfew up to Jan. 31 following the emergence of a new and more transmissible strain of COVID-19