COVID-19 is taking a gruesome shape in India. As for the latest data, the virus is affecting over 3 lakh people in the country every single day. In fact, in one of the recent days it touched the 4 lakh mark as well. Due to this, several states such as Maharashtra, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, among others have imposed lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus.
Taking advantage of the situation, a WhatsApp message is being circulated, which claims that Uttar Pradesh has extended the existing lockdown due to rising COVID cases.
This WhatsApp message is fake
The viral WhatsApp message claims that Uttar Pradesh will be under lockdown till May 10 and not May 4 as announced earlier. Well, if you have received a similar message on WhatsApp, don’t believe it. This news is fake.
Uttar Pradesh’s fact check team has issued a notification stating that there will not be any extension to the current lockdown in the state. At least for now.
The Uttar Pradesh Fact Check team has posted a screenshot of the WhatsApp message that informs people about the lockdown being extended till May 10.
Fake Alert: कुछ व्हाट्सएप ग्रुप्स एवं सोशल मीडिया पर प्रदेश के 21 जिलों में 10 मई 2021 तक लॉकडाउन लगाने की भ्रामक सूचना प्रसारित की जा रही है।#InfoUPFactCheck: @UPGovt द्वारा ऐसा कोई आदेश जारी नहीं किया गया है। कृपया भ्रामक सूचनाओं को सोशल मीडिया पर प्रसारित करने से बचें। pic.twitter.com/kAciDo08Tp
— Info Uttar Pradesh Fact Check (@InfoUPFactCheck) May 2, 2021
For the unaware, the Uttar Pradesh government announced a lockdown in the state last week, from Friday evening, April 30 to May 4, Tuesday morning.
Photo: Flickr
The fake WhatsApp message claims that 21 districts of Uttar Pradesh will be under lockdown till May 10. The areas include Lucknow, Kanpur, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Agra, Bareilly, Moradabad, Rampur, Sitapur, Aligarh, Saharanpur, and Muzaffarnagar, among others.
Another fake WhatsApp message
There’s another fake message related to UP is being circulated on WhatsApp. This one suggests guidelines during the lockdown which includes suspension of home delivery service from restaurants. This message is fake and home deliveries are not barred during the lockdown. The fact check team of the Uttar Pradesh government has urged people to not believe such fake WhatsApp messages and should first verify all information via official sources.
