Coronavirus Victim Discovered Dead in New Delhi: Fact Check

Story:

Coronavirus Victim Discovered Dead in New Delhi, India.

Other Versions

Rongmeipui in Delhi shikhre haiye corona virus nabagi

Fact Check:

A ‘shocking’ story is doing rounds on social media alleging to show a Coronavirus Victim Discovered Dead in New Delhi, India. Accompanying video appears to show Police and health officials wearing masks and examining the dead body. There are also images alleging to confirm the details of the Coronavirus victim. No, the claims are not true – the incident in the video is in fact not related to any Coronavirus infection.

Image about Coronavirus Victim Discovered Dead in New Delhi

Not Any Coronavirus Victim Dead in Delhi

The video in question shows Police and health officials examining the dead body and the room before enquiring with the people. You can also hear people crying over the death. Furthermore, there are three images accompanying the video. While one shows the dead body of the woman, other shows a selfie-snap of her. The third image is in fact a Government of India notice to Chief Secretary, Department of School Education. The letter dated 4th March 2020 is rather to spread awareness among students the preventive measures to avoid the spread of Coronavirus reported in some parts of India. As of this writing, India reported 40 confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus infection. More importantly, there are no credible reports of any Coronavirus related deaths in India.

Precautions to Avoid Coronavirus, COVID-19 Infection and Spread

Actual Incident in the Video

What you see in the video is in fact a Police investigation into a mysterious death of 22-year-old woman Zenthuiliu near Sriperumbudur in Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu, India. The woman from Peren district of Nagaland was working in a Beauty parlor and staying in a rented house. On 3rd March 2020, her friends found her dead and informed local police. Below is a Tamil news report showing photograph of the woman along with few glimpses of the area she was residing. Police said the woman had Asthma and she might have died due to difficulty in breathing. They are also investigating all other angles leading to her death.

Looks like, some viewers did not understand the local language (perhaps Rongmei tribe) in the video doing rounds on social media and came to a wrong conclusion of death due to Coronavirus.