Old video of Doctors spreading misinformation on COVID-19 doing rounds on social media again
New Delhi: In a video that is widely being circulated again across social media platforms, a group of doctors can be seen discussing how Corona Virus is only the flu and the need for isolation of patients and lockdown in countries was unnecessary.
The old video is once again doing the rounds on social media including WhatsApp and Facebook, in the wake of the spike in COVID cases in India and other countries that has triggered reports of COVID-imposed lockdowns and restrictions.
A fact-check on the video revealed the 3-minute video from a conference that was organized by conspiracy theorists against the Corona Virus by a European group called World Doctors Alliance.
The original video is about 18 minutes and was posted on ACU 2020 website in October 2020 which was later taken down by YouTube for violating its terms of service, a report published in the News Wire stated.
In the video, Dr. Dolores Cahill, former Professor of Immunology at the University College Dublin is heard talking about Covid-19 asserting that the virus was only the flu that can be treated without necessarily imposing lockdowns and restrictions on people.
"We are here to say that there is good news. The coronavirus is a seasonal virus that causes illness and symptoms from December to April. And for people who have symptoms, there are treatments like inhaled steroids, hydroxychloroquine, and zinc. So there is no need for the lockdown. There is no need for fear, there is no need for masks or social distancing, or for quarantining people. They are locking people in their homes for last year's flu for which there is an effective treatment. So we want to communicate this message to the people that there is no need for fear."
This viral clip is circulating on Facebook with the caption, "Now what is this--- Breaking News: WHO accepted its mistake and took a complete U-turn, saying that Corona is a seasonal virus, it is a cough, cold and sore throat that occurs during the change of weather, there is a need to panic. WHO now says that the corona patient neither needs to be isolated nor does the public need social distancing. It is also not transmitted from one patient to another. See WHO's press conference. .... Pls share it maximum. (sic)"
Another report published in Boomlive.in stated that the organization World Doctor’s Alliance was accused of spreading misinformation related to the pandemic earlier as well.
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Polling underway for 5 RS seats in Bihar
Patna (PTI): Voting is underway for five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar on Monday, with five nominees from the ruling NDA and one from the opposition RJD contesting the biennial polls, an official said.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin, also the five-time MLA from Bankipur assembly seat, RJD's national working president Tejashwi Yadav, BJP MLA Maithili Thakur, and jailed JD(U) legislator Anant Singh, among others, cast their ballots.
The polling, which commenced at 9 am, will continue till 5 pm in the Bihar Assembly complex, where MLAs are casting their ballots, he said.
Counting will begin after 5 pm, and the results are expected to be declared the same day.
Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar and Nabin are among the NDA candidates. The other three nominees from the ruling coalition are Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha, both sitting members of the Rajya Sabha, and BJP's Shivesh Kumar, who is seeking a berth in the Upper House of Parliament for the first time.
Yadav, after casting his vote, said, "Our candidate Amarendra Dhari Singh will win as we have got support from the five MLAs of AIMIM and one BSP legislator."
Talking to reporters on Monday, JD(U)'s national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha said, "NDA's all five candidates will win. We don't care what opposition parties are claiming."
The AIMIM announced on Sunday that all five of its MLAs would support the RJD candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls.
Talking to reporters after casting his vote, Singh said, "If Nitish Kumar does not remain the CM, I will not contest polls next time. My children will contest elections."
Singh, the Mokama MLA, was arrested ahead of the assembly polls last year in connection with the killing of Dular Chand Yadav, a rival gangster who was supporting the local candidate of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party.
Singh, who has since been unable to secure bail, was allowed to cast his vote on parole.
With numbers comfortably in favour of the NDA for four seats and marginally short for the fifth, the opposition forced an election by fielding the RJD's candidate.
The state administration has made adequate security arrangements to ensure a smooth election, an official said.
The NDA aims to win all five seats but needs support from three legislators from the opposition bench to achieve that.
The Grand Alliance kept its MLAs at a hotel in the state capital to prevent alleged poaching by rivals.
However, the NDA organised meetings with its legislators at the residences of ministers and senior leaders in the state's capital on Sunday.
The NDA enjoys a brute majority in the assembly, though its tally of 202 in the 243-member House falls three short of the number needed to secure all five Rajya Sabha seats.
To win a Rajya Sabha berth, one needs the support of at least 41 MLAs in the Bihar assembly.
