At least 45 people have now died in the violence that has been engulfing parts of South Africa since the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma last week.
This includes 10 people killed in a stampede during looting on Monday night at a shopping center in Soweto.
The military has now been deployed to help the police overstretched since the unrest began last Thursday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called it some of the worst violence witnessed in South Africa since the 1990s, before the end of apartheid, with fires set, highways blocked and businesses and warehouses looted in major cities and small towns in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces.
Ministers have warned that if looting continues, there is a risk areas could run out of basic food supplies soon – but have ruled out declaring a state of emergency.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said some 26 people had been killed in the province so far. In Gauteng, the death toll is 19, including the 10 who died at the shopping center in Soweto.
More than 200 shopping malls had been looted by Monday afternoon.
Soldiers working with the police managed to catch a few rioters; in total almost 800 have been arrested, but law enforcement remains heavily outnumbered, he reports.
