SAPS guided by Department of Health concerning Covid 19
Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo, National Police Spokesperson said the spreading of fake news concerning Covid-19 is a criminal offence.
SAPS has undergone extensive awareness campaigns, guided by the Department of Health, and urges the residents to never panic in any situation, especially with regards to Covid-19.
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“All people need to do during this disaster period of Covid-19 is to simply adhere to the precautionary measure as articulated by President Cyril Ramaphosa,” Brig Vishnu Naidoo, the national SAPS spokesperson, told the NEWS.
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19, the South African Police Service Management has embarked on extensive and intensive internal awareness campaigns, Naidoo said.
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“These campaigns are to educate our members on the do’s and don’ts related to Covid-19, and we are guided by the Department of Health in this regard,” said Naidoo.
He said management has also sent out a directive to all precincts throughout the country to procure equipment.
Naidoo said this related to consumables that would help to prevent the spread of Covid- 9.
“These will be for the use of our members, or for the placement thereof, for the use of visitors to these respective precincts,” said Naidoo.
Naidoo said the spreading of fake news was a criminal offence.
“Should anyone commit any crime related to the Covid-19, like the spreading of fake news, they will be charged criminally,” said Naidoo.
Naidoo added that a Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) had been designed with the colleagues in the correctional services for the use of SAPS members with regards to the handling of suspects and prisoners awaiting trial.
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
