An unsubstantiated report doing the rounds on social media has now found to have been an elaborate hoax - an attempt to benefit from the mass hysteria surrounding the coronavirus fear.
The report published in ab-tc.com made a rather preposterous claim that China has sought permission for a "mass killing" of the coronavirus infected patients.
It further claimed that China was pressed to take such a drastic measure as the country was losing several health workers to the coronavirus infection.
The article also refers to a 'document' which the 'State' submitted before the court stating - "the country may lose its entire citizens if the few affected patients do not sacrifice their lives to save health workers and a billion others as there is no hope in sight in the fight against the virus."
The report is now found to have been completely fake after it was established that the website that published the report - "China seek for court's approval to kill the over 20,000 coronavirus patients to avoid further spread of the virus" has previously too engaged in such frivolous mischief.
The same website on January 30 had published a fake report targeting Singaporeans. It has claimed that five Singaporeans have contracted the Wuhan coronavirus without going to China, following which the government of Singapore had to issue a clarification.
On Twitter, one user while sharing the article observed that it was necessary to kill the coronavirus infected patients. "This is what we call in law 'the doctrine of necessity "=A necessary evil. Before u engage, keep Emotions aside. Note:There is no cure yet," a social media user posted while sharing the article without knowing it was a fake report.
Several others shared the article without even asking if it was a valid news source except for one who tweeted: "Is true that China is seeking court's approval to kill 20,000 or more coronavirus patients to avoid further spread of the virus? Horrified if true ! Does anyone have news on this ?"
The report has come at a time, when the Chinese angry and mourning the death of a doctor Li Wenliang who had tried to warn about the coronavirus, BBC reported.
Li Wenliang died after contracting the virus while treating patients in Wuhan. He was the first one to raise the alarm about the virus but he arrested for "spreading rumors" and was told by police to "stop making false comments."
The novel coronavirus strain (2019-nCOV) till has claimed over 600 lives and infected 31,000 people in China alone. According to the New York Times, China on Thursday began testing remdesivir, an antiviral medicine made by Gilead, an American pharmaceutical company- as a possible cure for coronavirus.
