A message purportedly from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) – Health Department is being shared on social media with their logo. The message reads – ‘There is a higher stage of corona which cannot be detected but is infected to small children till the age of 30’. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Message from the BMC – ‘There is a higher stage of corona which cannot be detected but is infected to small children till the age of 30’.
Fact: The BMC did not issue any such message. They clarified on their social media handles that the viral message is fake. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched about the message in the post, it was found that the BMC has already issued a clarification on the message. They have also published the same on their social media handles (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) saying – ‘The following image making rounds on social media is fake and we urge citizens to not circulate it any further. We request Mumbaikars to continue following all COVID-prevention norms and help the city beat the virus.’
As the COVID-19 cases are increasing in the State of Maharashtra, some of the updated guidelines issued by the BMC and the Government of Maharashtra can be found here and here, respectively.
As COVID-19 is quite a new disease and multiple strains of the virus are emerging, its effect on children is an evolving issue. The views of the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF on the topic can be read here, here, and here.
To sum it up, the BMC denied issuing the message – ‘Undetectable higher state of Corona infecting small children’.
