A devastating second wave of coronavirus in India has seen hospitals and crematoriums overwhelmed and widespread shortages of oxygen and medicines. With the number of coronavirus cases shooting in the metropolis, several makeshift COVID-19 centres have been set up across the city to treat new patients every day. However, amid this, a message is doing the rounds on social media claiming that the armed forces have set up a 1000-bed COVID-19 care hospital near Mumbai airport. Although, the PRO Defence Mumbai shared the screenshot of the message in a tweet and said that the claims have ‘no basis and is FAKE news’. Amusingly, it was found that the same message was also being shared as a Delhi facility. In the national capital, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had set up a 250- to 500-bed COVID hospital in the Delhi Cantonment area.
Defence Ministry’s Mumbai PRO said in a tweet from its official account, “There is a message circulating on social media that a 1000 bedded #COVID19 care hospital by Indian Armed Forces has been established near Airport terminal T1 at #Mumbai. This has no basis and is FAKE news.”
The ‘fake’ message reads – “This is to inform you that from today onward 1000 beds facility is initiated by Armed forces w.e.f 0800 hrs today for admission of all confirmed corona patients who need immediate hospitalisation. This state-of-the-art 1000-bedded COVID care hospital is very close to domestic airport T1. This facility is meant to extend a helping hand to all civilian brethren and ex-servicemen. Everything is FREE”
The viral message mentions the address as “next to Raksha Sampada Bhavan”, which is situated in Delhi and not Mumbai.
A Times of India article from June 2020 was found, which mentioned that Home Minister Amit Shah had then said that a 1,000-bed hospital would be built in Delhi by DRDO and Tata Trust for COVID patients.
Further, an officer had then told the publication that the said facility would be situated “behind the office of the Controller General of Defence Accounts/Raksha Sampada Bhavan, which is not too far from the airport.”
An article published on All India Radio on 18th April mentioned that Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) reopened its Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel COVID Hospital in Delhi Cantonment area after it was shut down in the first week on February as the daily COVID cases decreased.
Another All India Radio article published on 19th April stated that the facility that has been re-established near Delhi’s domestic airport terminal will be looked after by the medical team drawn from the armed forces. On 24th April, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the DRDO would be adding another 250 beds to the facility, taking the total numbers of beds to 500.
Regarding the efforts being made by the armed forces, the Indian Navy has kept a few COVID oxygen beds ready in its hospitals so that they can be used by the civil administration, India Today reported. These hospitals under the Western Naval Command include INHS, Goa, INHS Patanjali, Karwar, and INHS Sandhani, Mumbai. Evidently, the viral message falsely claimed that a COVID facility was set up by the armed forces near the Mumbai airport.
