Viral message about phased lockdown extension by WHO is fake
Misinformation about a phased extension of the lockdown in India has been doing the rounds on social media. The piece of misinformation, falsely attributed to the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the current 21-day lockdown in India will be relaxed for five days followed by a 28-day lockdown. However, both the WHO and the Indian government have clarified that this is fake news.
What did the false alert say?
The fake alert said that the current lockdown (March 22-April 14) is a "trial lockdown" which will be relaxed for five days till April 19. This will be followed by a 28-day lockdown between April 20-May 18, the fake alert stated. It said the government may impose a third lockdown of 15 days between May 25-June 10 after another period of relaxation.
'Message on WHO protocol for lockdown baseless and fake'
The official Twitter handle of WHO South-East Asia clarified that the phased extended lockdown alert is fake. It said, "Messages being circulated on social media as WHO protocol for lockdown are baseless and FAKE. WHO does NOT have any protocols for lockdowns." Citing the global health body's clarification, the Press Information Bureau also recognized the "so-called circular," widely circulated on WhatsApp, as fake.
You can view the tweet here
Fake alert bears similarity to recent research paper
Interestingly, in March, two mathematical researchers Ronojoy Adhikari and Rajesh Singh had published a paper that bears some similarity to the fake alert attributed to WHO. The paper concluded that the 21-day lockdown will be "insufficient" and imagined three alternative lockdown scenarios.
Here are the 3 scenarios listed in the paper
The first scenario imagined a 21-day lockdown followed by a five-day relaxation period and another 28-day lockdown. The second scenario is a repetition of the first scenario, but the 28-day lockdown is followed by another five-day relaxation period and a third 18-day lockdown. The third scenario imagines a single 49-day lockdown, which will lead to the least mortalities, according to the study.
Discussions on about relaxing lockdown in phases: Maharashtra Health Minister
Notably, the government had earlier denied any plans of extending the lockdown. However, Maharashtra Health Minister said on Saturday that the state government was holding discussions on relaxing the lockdown in phases. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with 781 COVID-19 cases and 45 deaths.
How bad is the outbreak in India?
By Monday morning, India's Health Ministry had confirmed 4,067 cases of COVID-19. These include 109 deaths and 3,666 active cases along with 291 cured/discharged patients and one patient who migrated out of India. However, India had reported 126 COVID-19 deaths till Sunday evening alone, as confirmed by states independently. New deaths have since been reported in Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
