New Delhi: The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has said that an ‘order’ that was circulating on social media and claimed that the country would go into lockdown once again from September 25 is fake.
An image of the purported ‘NDMA [National Disaster Management Authority] order’ said that the authority had recommended a fresh lockdown, as India’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise meteorically. However, the PIB debunked the misinformation on Twitter, saying the rumours were not true.
“Claim: An order purportedly issued by National Disaster Management Authority claims that it has directed the government to re-impose a nationwide lockdown from 25th September. PIB Fact Check: This order is Fake. NDMA has not issued any such order to re-impose lockdown,” PIB tweeted.
Claim: An order purportedly issued by National Disaster Management Authority claims that it has directed the government to re-impose a nationwide #Lockdown from 25th September. #PIBFactCheck: This order is #Fake. @ndmaindia has not issued any such order to re-impose lockdown. pic.twitter.com/J72eeA62zl
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) September 12, 2020
The fake order said the NDMA’s recommended a fresh lockdown to be imposed to reduce the number of infections and also mortality rate. It said, “…the National Disaster Management Authority, along with the Planning commission, hereby urges the government of India and directs the Prime Minister office, ministry of home affairs to re-impose a strict nationwide lockdown of 46 days starting from midnight September 25, 2020. Maintaining the supply chain of essential commodities in the country, therefore hereby NDMA is issuing a prior notice to the ministry to plan accordingly.”
As of Tuesday, India has the second highest number of infections in the world (49,30,236) and the third highest death toll (80,776).