Presidency decries national lockdown reports as ‘fake news’
President Cyril Ramaphosa's spokesperson Khusela Diko has warned of spreading fake news amid growing speculation of a national lockdown.
Diko took to social media on Saturday to put out talks of a looming lockdown ahead of the National Command Council meeting with the President.
On Sunday Ramaphosa will chair a meeting of the council which will receive an update on the COVID-19 outbreak.
Diko dispelled claims that Ramaphosa would use that meeting to announce plans of a lockdown.
"The National Command Council will meet in a scheduled meeting tomorrow to assess implementation of the directives announced by the President last Sunday.
"The President is NOT addressing the nation and announcing a lockdown tonight," she wrote in a tweet.
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
Earlier this the week Gauteng Premier David Makhura told religious leaders that he would call on the president to put the country under lockdown amid the rising number of coronavirus infections.
The number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus stood at 240 on Sunday morning.