Messages about coronavirus lockdown in South Africa are fake news: presidency
Messages circulating on social media which state that President Cyril Ramaphosa will place South Africa on ‘lockdown’ from Saturday (21 March) to stop the spread of the coronavirus are ‘fake news’, says President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Khusela Diko.
In a series of tweets, Diko said that president Ramaphosa would provide an update to the nation after meeting with the national command council on Sunday.
“The president is not addressing the nation and announcing a lockdown tonight. The national command council will meet in a scheduled meeting tomorrow to assess (the) implementation of the directives announced by the president last Sunday,” Diko said.
“The council will further consider recommendations on economic relief measures to mitigate against the impact of #CoronavirusInSA . Thereafter, the president will give an update to the nation at a time to be decided at the conclusion of the meeting.”
STOP SPREADING FAKE NEWS: The President is NOT addressing the nation and announcing a lockdown tonight. The National Command Council will meet in a scheduled meeting tomorrow to assess implementation of the directives announced by the President last Sunday. #CoronavirusInSA..1/2 pic.twitter.com/BJgmv1XCSs
— Khusela Diko🇿🇦 (@KhuselaS) March 21, 2020
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) announced that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Africa has increased to 240 as of Saturday (21 March).
The Western Cape has seen the greatest increase in reported coronavirus cases – up to 74 from 56 on Friday. However, Gauteng remains the province with the most reported cases, up to 125 from 109 on Friday. The Eastern Cape has also reported its first case.
At 18h20 on Saturday, global cases stood at 290,316 and 11,953 deaths. 93,618 people have recovered.
Loading ...