New Delhi, April 8: Amid the rising cases of coronavirus in India, several fake messages and misinformation about COVID-19 and lockdown extension is also spreading like wildfire on social media platforms. India is currently under a 21-day lockdown to prevent the spread of the deadly virus, which has so far claimed 124 lives across the country. In a latest such report of fake information, there is a message doing rounds on social media that the Government of India has decided that hotels / resorts / restaurants will remain closed till October 15, 2020, in view of COVID-2019.
However, the government said that this information is false and baseless as the Tourism Ministry of the GOI has not made any such decision in this regard. On April 7, the government cleared the air over a possible extension of the lockdown and said no such decision has been taken in this regard and urged people not to speculate. When Will Coronavirus End in India? This Graph Shows Importance of Lockdown and Forecast With Dates When India Can Get COVID-19 Free.
Here's the tweet:
Alert 🚨
There is a message going rounds that the Government of India has decided that hotels / resorts / restaurants will remain closed till 15 October, 2020, in view of #COVID2019.
Fact: This is absolutely fake ❌. @tourismgoi has not made any such decision!#PIBFactCheck pic.twitter.com/QXgDv8TPRC
— PIB in Maharashtra 🇮🇳 #StayHome (@PIBMumbai) April 7, 2020
Earlier in March, thousands of restaurants, pubs, gyms, movie halls across the nation were closed down as part of the measures to fight the spread of COVID-19. The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), which represents 500,000-plus restaurants, had advised its members to shut down dine-in operations till March 31 as a preventive measure to contain the spread of novel coronavirus cases in India.
Earlier this month, several fake messages are doing rounds on social media claiming that the shutdown has been extended further. However, a fact check report by Press Information Bureau (PIB) claimed that the news of lockdown extension was a fake one as there has been no such announcement made by the Government.
Fact check
Govt has decided that hotels / resorts / restaurants will remain closed till October 15, 2020
This claim is absolutely fake as the Govt has not announced any such decision so far.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 08, 2020 08:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).