Ramaphosa to address SA at 7.30pm on 'measures to contain coronavirus'

President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to speak to South Africans at 7.30pm tonight, the presidency said on Monday evening.

In a statement, spokesperson Khusela Diko said the address would be "on the measures currently being undertaken to contain the coronavirus pandemic".

"The address ... follows a meeting of the National Command Council yesterday [Sunday] which assessed the efficacy of the national lockdown," the statement read.

About an hour before the announcement that Ramaphosa would speak, Diko slammed as "fake news" a WhatsApp message doing the rounds claiming that Ramaphosa would address South Africans and whether the lockdown "will be extended for 90 days".

“The presidency issues an alert to the public when the president is about to address the nation. Anything outside of this is fake news,” she said.

“Members of the public are once again cautioned against spreading fake and misleading information designed to create panic and confusion in the country. Truly this is not the time for such ridiculousness.”