As the number of coronavirus cases continue to surge across the country, social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook and other personal messaging services such as Whatsapp are replete with messages and a purported image of an ‘order’ issued by the National Disaster Management Authority claiming that the country would once again go into lockdown starting from September 25.
One of the Whatsapp forwards that is doing the rounds on the Internet reads, “In order to contain the spread of COVID-19 and decrease the mortality rate of the country, the National Disaster Management Authority(NDMA), along with the Planning Commission has urged the Government of India to once again impose a strict lockdown of 46 days starting from midnight 25th September.”
Similarly, a purported ‘order’ allegedly issued by the NDMA is being circulated on other social media websites in which the organisation has advised the government to make necessary provisions for the daily necessities and suggested to impose a nationwide lockdown of 46 days starting the midnight of September 25.
The purported order states that due to the COVID-19 cases increasing daily and the number of deaths is rising in the country, the National Disaster Management Authority i.e. NDMA has directed all the ministries and departments of Government of India including State Government and Union Territories to take preventive measures to contain this COVID outbreak so that the number of cases doesn’t rise any further.
Press Information Bureau debunks rumours of reimposition of lockdown from September 25
However, debunking the misinformation that is being spread across the social media platforms, the Press Information Bureau has posted a tweet, putting rumours of the reimposition of the lockdown to rest in the wake of rising number of cases in the country.
https://twitter.com/PIBFactCheck/status/1304803151082434560?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwCalling the order that is being widely shared on Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook as fake, the official Twitter handle of PIB posted a tweet saying that no such order has been issued by the NDMA and there is no plan in the offing to reimpose a nationwide lockdown in the wake of surging coronavirus caseloads.
Earlier in March, India went under a strict lockdown for 21 days to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. The lockdown was subsequently extended until June when the government proceeded on a phased unlock of the country. Activities which were banned during the lockdown have resumed in a graded manner, considering the local situation of the coronavirus crisis. However, there have been many reports in between about a nationwide lockdown again, apart from the restrictions already imposed in containment areas.
India on Monday registered 83,809 cases, taking the overall tally of the coronavirus cases in the country to 49,30,236. Besides, 1,054 fatalities have been reported in the last 24 hours, data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shows.