SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will not address the nation on Friday night (March 20), contrary to messages circulating online that he will do so in a live telecast at 8pm.

A government spokesman at a multi-ministry task force briefing on Friday also said no lockdown is expected in the near future.

There has been an increase in false reports posted and reposted online since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in recent months, with the Government having to make use of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act to clamp down on rumours several times.

In January, two Facebook accounts were told to make corrections to posts claiming that Woodlands MRT station was closed for disinfection because of a suspected Covid-19 case.

SPH Magazines was also asked in January to correct an online post in the HardwareZone forum that falsely claimed a man in Singapore had died from the virus infection, while The States Times Review Facebook page in the same month was instructed to correct a post that claimed Singapore had run out of face masks.