'Complete lockdown to be imposed from May 3-20', claims viral post; govt denies

New Delhi: A fake screenshot carrying the logo of a private news channel claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to impose a complete lockdown in the country from May 3 till May 20  is going viral on social media platforms. People are also sharing the screenshot of the false news bulletin on Facebook, Whatsapp, and Twitter. As per the reports of Zee News, S Rajput, a Facebook user, has posted a fake graphic of the news channel on April 25 in which he claimed that from May 3 to May 20, there will be a complete lockdown in the country due to rising coronavirus cases. However, when we conducted a fact check, the viral post turned out to be fake.

CLAIM: After a sudden spike in coronavirus cases, PM Modi has decided to impose lockdown from May 3 till May 30.

FACT: The claim is fake. The government of India has time and again stated that lockdown is not a solution.

Earlier this month, a morphed picture of  PM Modi alongside Hindi text that reads ‘Total Lockdown In India From April 15 till April 30’ was widely circulated on social media. The fake news triggered panic in many. Later, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) conducted a fact check and debunked the report.

In his address to the nation, PM Modi had said the people were undergoing suffering but “we need to fight it out with all our might” and expressed confidence that the coronavirus will be defeated with the combined efforts of the people.

“The situation is different from last year when there was no COVID vaccine in the country or infrastructure to produce PPE kits and other much-needed medical goods”, he noted.

He clearly stated that lockdown should be the last option and the focus should be on micro-containment.