Published 13:06 IST, April 9th 2020
Fact Check: Did WHO say it may enter homes & remove Coronavirus positive cases by force?
Fact check on whether a WHO official gave a speech stating that "they may have to enter homes and forcefully remove family members infected with Coronavirus".
Claim: WHO official says that they may have to enter homes and remove family members infected by COVID-19.
Rating: Misinterpreted
What is the rumour about?
- During a press briefing, a WHO official said that "they may have to start entering people's homes and remove family members affected due to Coronavirus".
- The WHO official stated that they intend to shift people tested positive for Coronavirus to an isolated area away from their homes.
- This statement by the official has created panic all over the world as people are worried about their family members being forcefully taken away from their houses.
- Check out the number of views this video has received. Similar videos are being circulated all over the web. Within 2 days they have received over 48K views.
Image courtesy: Mrgunsngear B Channel YouTube
Who started the rumour?
- After the news was aired on Fox News TV channel on April 6, 2020, people started misinterpreting the actual news that was conveyed by the WHO official.
- Many people started sharing the snippet of the news channel and captioned it saying that the WHO is planning to enter people's houses and remove the family members infected with COVID-19 by force.
Image courtesy: Facebook
Google Trends
After an analysis of the Google Trends with respect to the news stating that WHO officials will remove the family members out of their houses, one can see that people have been hugely interested to know about the same. According to the Google Trends analysis, the maximum number of people were searching for it on April 8, 2020.
Image courtesy: Google Trends
Image courtesy: Google Trends
Republic World did a fact check on the "WHO official to remove family members" rumour
- According to the fact check done by the Republic World team, the viral message forwards that have been circulating all over social media were found to be misinterpreted.
- The WHO official, Dr Michael Ryan said that for combating the spread of the virus, authorities may have to move the family members to an isolated designated facility.
- He suggested that the need of the hour in major locations of the world is to find the family members who may be affected in each household so that they can be isolated to a different facility in a safe and dignified manner.
- There was no mention by the WHO official that the people would be removed from their houses by force.
- On March 30, 2020, Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, gave a statement with regards to the next step to stop the Coronavirus transmission. He said that most of the transmissions are actually happening in the same household at the family level.
- Tucker Carlson who hosts the Tucker Carlson Tonight Show, was seen to implicate that such statements may cause violence in the public. However, this press briefing by Dr Ryan isn't being talked about on major news channels yet.
Image courtesy: Mrgunsngear B Channel YouTube
- The video showing a snippet of the 4th Amendment Bill's definition was NOT shown in the actual broadcast during the Tucker Carlson show. Here is the image from a YouTube channel named "Mrgunsngear B Channel".
Image courtesy: Mrgunsngear B Channel YouTube
- According to the latest recommendation by CDC, areas with high community-based transmission are advised to use cloth coverings on their faces.
Image courtesy: Twitter
Image courtesy: CDC website
Is there any rumour you want Republic World to do a fact check on? Do you have facts about a rumour? Share your pictures or videos with Republic World on contact@republicworld.com or comment on this story itself.
Promo Image credit: Facebook forwards
Updated 13:06 IST, April 9th 2020