A video showing patients on hospital beds lined outside on the streets is being circulated online with the claim that it depicts the COVID-19 situation in Hyderabad.
The same video is also being shared online with the claim that Pakistan is struggling to tackle the COVID-19 Pandemic.
‘Coronavirus is hitting Pakistan so badly. You can see the conditions of hospital in Pakistan and there’s no space in hospitals for corona patients. So, please take it serious this is a worldwide dangerous virus,’ reads the caption of one of the posts.
The Logical Indian received a request on the Fact Check number to verify the claims.
Claim:
Video shows overwhelming COVID-19 situation in Pakistan or Hyderabad, India.
Fact check:
The claim is false.
Location
A Google Reverse Image search was done by breaking the video into individual frames using InVid which led to a news report by Gulf News which confirmed the location of the video to be Pakistan.
According to the Gulf News report, a fire had erupted in the surgical emergency ward of Services Hospital in Lahore on June 13. Subsequently, a video showing patients waiting on hospital beds outside the facility surfaced on social media.
Below is a comparison between a picture of the hospital’s entrance from Google Maps (left) and a screenshot from the viral video (right):
Origin Of Claim
After the clip was shared online, it was believed that the patients were waiting outside due to the overwhelming number of COVID-19 patients and insufficient space in hospitals. Further, it was reported that around 40 patients were undergoing treatment in the ward and all of them were evacuated.
A 50-year-old patient, identified as Shamim, died due to lack of oxygen supply during the process of shifting. Further, a broadcast of the incident was done on the Youtube channel of Gourmet News Network (GNN), a Lahore based Pakistani news channel.
One can see the evacuation process underway, in this video footage.
Below are various tweets on the incident:
Public Service Message: Please stay home stay safe everyone! pic.twitter.com/yRnba1zPBB
— Syed Raza Mehdi (@SyedRezaMehdi) June 14, 2020
Madiha Abid Ali, a Pakistani journalist based in Lahore tweeted about the confusion surrounding the video and appealed for caution.
A day before yesterday fire erupted in the operation theatre of the multi-storey emergency ward building of the Services Hospital Lahore. Few people are circulating the video and relating it with #COVID19 situation. Please beware of #FakeNews#FakeNewsAlert pic.twitter.com/95vrZ3nEGb
— Madiha Abid Ali (@MadihaAbidAli) June 14, 2020
I am told this happened because there was a fire inside the hospital. Hope everyone is safe. But everyone in & around any hospital must be more careful in their physical contact & maintain social distance. Our hospitals are getting fuller let’s all be responsible. Stay Safe. pic.twitter.com/Pp8dlvqC3a
— Fakhr-e-Alam (@falamb3) June 14, 2020
A short circuit in Hospital Operation Theater caused fire and) & these patients were rescued from FIRE!They are not COVID patients How these so called celebrities spread disinformation & propaganda without any verification is mind-boggling!!Check their tweets & actual story pic.twitter.com/sasQBwkZKF
— Azhar (@MashwaniAzhar) June 14, 2020
Therefore, the situation seen in the video occurred as a result of a fire in the surgical ward of a hospital located in Lahore, Pakistan. The COVID ward of the hospital is irrelevant to the viral video. Further, the incident has no connection with Hyderabad, India.
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Also Read: Fact Check: Video Viral With Claim Of COVID-19 Patients Out In Public Places In Pune
