The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic on Wednesday, March 11. The virus has spread to over 100 countries, with over 140,000 confirmed cases, and nearly 5,000 deaths. In such a scenario, where fear and anxiety has taken over people, the distribution of fake news is on the rise.
A photograph from ‘The Eyes of Darkness’, the thriller novel by Dean Koontz has gone viral over social media with a claim that the novel predicted the coronavirus outbreak much before.
‘A Dean Koontz novel written in 1981 predicted the outbreak of the coronavirus!’ reads one such tweet.
A Dean Koontz novel written in 1981 predicted the outbreak of the coronavirus! pic.twitter.com/bjjqq6TzOl
â Nick Hinton (@NickHintonn) February 16, 2020
It’s a strange world we live in.#coronavirus #COVID19 #Wuhan pic.twitter.com/WkjbK4zGaW
â Darren of Plymouth ð¬ð§ (@DarrenPlymouth) February 16, 2020
Claim:
Dean Koontz’s novel ‘The Eyes of Darkness’ predicted the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fact Check:
The novel is a work of fiction, and hence any resemblance is a meagre coincidence. In ‘The Eyes of Darkness’ novel the author made reference to a killer virus called ‘Wuhan-400’ â eerily predicting the Chinese city where Covid-19 would emerge. But the similarities end there: Wuhan-400 is described as having a ‘killârate’ of 100 per cent, developed in labs outside the city as the ‘perfect’ biological weapon.
Differences Between Novel Coronavirus and ‘Wuhan-400’
In the novel, ‘Wuhan-400’ has a 100 per cent fatality rate. While World Health Organization officials announced an average case fatality rate of 3.4 per cent. The fictional ‘Wuhan-400’ has an expeditious incubation period of about four hours. However, for COVID-19, the following symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure: Fever, Cough, Shortness of breath.
Therefore, there is no reason to believe that the famous novel predicted the COVID-19 pandemic long before its time.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343
Also Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: 68-Yr-Old Woman Dies In Delhi, Second Casualty In India
