The number of positive cases of COVID-19 in India hit 110 on Sunday, March 15, after 26 new cases were reported – the highest single-day rise so far. The new cases include 18 from Maharashtra, two from Telangana, three from Kerala and 1 each from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Amidst all the fake information circulating online regarding the Coronavirus Pandemic, a audio clip which claims that India will go into lockdown to contain the outbreak of the virus has gone viral.
The clip is being forwarded with the caption:
‘Some girl saying her army officer dad is in contact with the ministry of health who says country will go into lockdown within 5 days.’
Another message which appeals people to stock up grocery in the next five days is also being used to propagate the claim.
Our community members also asked us if we could verify the authenticity of the audio.
Claim:
India to go on lockdown in the next couple of days.
Fact Check:
The claim is not true.
The Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) official fact-checking Twitter handle on Sunday debunked the claim.
‘There is an audio clip being shared on WhatsApp that claims India will go into lockdown. The assertions made in the audio clip is fake and pure scaremongering. Please do not forward it,’ the tweet read.
#PIBFactCheckThere is an audio clip being shared on WhatsApp that claims India will go into a lockdown. The assertions made in the audio clip is fake and pure scaremongering. Please do not forward it.#HelpUstoHelpU pic.twitter.com/64cmjXyNmq
â PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) March 15, 2020
In the clip a girl, who claims that her father, a medical practitioner in the armed forces, has confirmed that the country will go into a lockdown from the next week.
‘That all the army hospitals are now in direct contact with the Ministry of Health and now they have been ordered to create quarantine facilities everywhere,’ she quotes her father as saying.
‘The Ministry of Health has instructed that the country is going to go on lockdown for at least a month in the next five days,’ she further quoted her father as saying.
She claimed that her father is in charge of one of the army hospitals, used for quarantining patients.
She then talks to the listeners to decide on their next course of action, whether ‘they want to go to their houses soon or stay back wherever they are put’, ‘as the situation will go worse.’
The claims are false.
So far, 13 people have recovered from COVID- 19 in India and two have died. With 32 positive cases, Maharashtra is the worst-affected in the country. Kerala has the second-highest number of (22) cases.
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: Fact-Check: No, Bengaluru-Based Google Techie’s Wife Who Tested Positive Did Not Flee To Agra
