Contrary to claims made in a viral news story, Belgium’s health minister has not banned group sex during coronavirus lockdown.

The original story, published on worldnewsdailyreport.com, claimed that the country’s health minister urged people not to engage in group sex while the crisis continues.

But anyone who looked at the website for more than a second or two might have noticed that its tagline is “where facts don’t matter”.

The website is actually a satirical fake news website – but this did not stop the story spreading rapidly across the internet.

The fake article said the health minister banned ‘the exchange of wives’ among other activities until the coronavirus pandemic ends.

To make matters worse, the story was subsequently picked up by another website, caigaquiencaiga.net, the Huffington Post reports, meaning the story spread even faster.

The satirical article quoted Belgium’s health minister Maggie De Block as saying that the nation needed to stay away from group sex in order to stem the spread of COVID-19.

The exchange of wives, threesomes and orgies of six, fifty, one hundred or more are not allowed until the outbreak is controlled.

“Belgium is the beer-drinking and group sex capital of Europe, if not the world,” the website quoted De Block as saying.

“We, as a nation, must address this situation.”

The article went on to claim that De Block had not banned sex between two people, nor had she prohibited “masturbation, anal or oral sex, or even bestiality.”

The fake quote continued: “The exchange of wives, threesomes and orgies of six, fifty, one hundred or more are not allowed until the outbreak is controlled.”

The website bears a warning that all of its stories are ‘fictional’.

People in Belgium who are partial to group sex will be relieved to know that the article was entirely fake.

The website does not claim that any of its stories are based in fact. A warning at the bottom of the homepage reads: “World News Daily Report assumes all responsibility for the satirical nature of its articles and for the fictional nature of their content.

“All characters appearing in the articles in this website – even those based on real people – are entirely fictional and any resemblance between them and any person, living, dead or undead, is purely a miracle.”