Is The Video of Breathless Man Going Viral Amid Coronavirus Outbreak From Wenlock Hospital? Here's the Fact Check Behind The WhatsApp Forward

While the whole world is battling coronavirus in self-quarantine and by practising social distancing, there is no lack of misinformation about COVID-19 per se and its cases. WhatsApp is filled with fake messages about alleged "cures" of coronavirus or old videos of people suffering that is being packaged as that of coronavirus patients. Just recently, a video of a breathless person lying on a wheeled stretcher, is being widely shared on WhatsApp. The video is being claimed to be from India. It is being said that amid the coronavirus outbreak in India this video was shot in Mangalore, Karnataka. Fact Check: Essential Shops in Mumbai to Follow Timings Amid COVID-19 Curfew? Police Commissioner Calls WhatsApp Message Fake.

The viral WhatsApp forwards, Twitter posts and Facebook posts have it that the COVID-19 patient in the isolation ward of Wenlock Hospital. Allegations that this was done to spread the coronavirus to other patients in casualty. Check Tweet:

However, the same video in another post on Facebook is claimed to be shot in Banaras, UP. In this Facebook post the user claims in Hindi that the person is a coronavirus patient admitted at a Banaras hospital. The post reads: "बनारस में भर्ती कोरोना वायरस के मरीज का यह वीडियो देखकर आप लोग समझे की कितनी गंभीर स्थिति है सिर्फ बचाओ ही इसका उपाय है कहीं भी भीड़ ना मचाए 1 मीटर की दूरी अवश्य बनाए रहे घड़ी घंटा बजाने वालों से भी अनुरोध है कि जुलूस के रूप में ना निकले गंभीरता से लें". Did Prince Charles Contract Coronavirus from Kanika Kapoor During Her UK Visit? Here's The Fact Check Of The Viral Pictures. 

When translated in English, it reads, "Seeing this video of corona virus patient admitted in Banaras, you understand that this is a serious situation, just prevention isn't enough, you must sta away from the crowd and must keep a distance of 1 meter anywhere. Reaquest to people coming out in procession, take this seriously) View post:

However, a tweet revealed that the video is actually from Ecuador and was initially shared on March 18.  The Twitter user who shared this has "Ecuadorian from Guayaquil. Doctor. Researcher" written on her bio and revealed that the video of the patient was shot at a hospital centre in Valencia city of Ecuador’s Los Rios province. According to her, he was suffering from "acute respiratory distress syndrome." The video began to be circulated in Ecuador and not in Mangalore as per some fake forwards.

According to Alt News, a complaint has been "filed with Mangalore police by the Medical superintendent of District Government Wenlock Hospital seeking action against those who have circulated the videos as of their hospital."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 26, 2020 05:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).