Singapore on Thursday ordered social media platforms to have a correction notice to users in the country as they were false information about a new COVID-19 variant originating in Singapore.
The country has instructed Facebook and Twitter to carry correction notices on posts claiming there is a local strain of the COVID-19 virus.
The health ministry denied the statement circulating online regarding the new strain that originated in Singapore.
“There is no new ‘Singapore’ variant of COVID-19. Neither is there evidence of any COVID-19 variant that is ‘extremely dangerous for kids,” the health ministry said.
“The strain that is prevalent in many of the COVID-19 cases detected in Singapore in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated from India,” it added.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier said that a new form of the virus that was particularly harmful to children had come to Singapore, and urged for a ban on flights.
The correction orders were issued under Singapore’s fake news law, or the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act.
