Amidst the rising threat of a second wave, various fake messages are also getting viral on WhatsApp and other social media platforms which are aimed at creating panic in minds of people. One such video that is currently viral on social media claims that the World Health Organization has issued a warning that 50,000 people will die in India by April 15 due to coronavirus. As India is witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases, a bulletin being massively shared on WhatsApp claims that the World Health Organization (WHO) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have warned India that the country will witness 50,000 deaths by 15 April. At the end of the bulletin, the narrator urges people to share the video with friends and family, however, the bulletin only mentions ‘share’ and there is no link to the channel’s social media accounts.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has refuted reports claiming that it has issued a warning on 50,000 fatalities due to COVID-19 in India by April 15. Taking to Twitter, the world health body said the video claiming that the WHO has warned of 50,000 deaths in India is ‘fake news’. The WHO has not issued any such warning, it clarified.
“A video claiming WHO has warned of 50,000 COVID19 deaths in India by 15 April is fake news. WHO has not issued any such warning,” tweeted World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia (SEARO). India has so far reported over 1,26,86,049 Covid-19 cases. The death toll in the country has gone up to 1,65,547.
The post claimed that India has been warned by WHO-ICMR about the third wave of COVID-19 and the total death count by the coronavirus outbreak in India could reach 50,000. The video, however, turns out to be fake as WHO has not issued any such warning. In a tweet, WHO South-East Asia debunked the fake news and said, “A video claiming WHO has warned of 50,000 deaths in India by 15 April is fake news. WHO has not issued any such warning”. The official Twitter handle of WHO South-East Asia stated that the video claiming that the organisation has warned of 50,000 COVID-19 deaths by 15 April in India is “FAKE NEWS.”
Evidently, the viral bulletin falsely claimed that the World Health Organization has warned India that the country will witness 50,000 deaths due to coronavirus by 15 April.
