False coronavirus alarm on social media lands Chitral man in trouble

Irshad Mukarrer allegedly posted picture of Chinese man claiming he was infected with coronavirus

SWAT: Amid growing fears of the China-origin novel coronavirus in Pakistan, a man in a northern district has been booked on charges of spreading disinformation on social media.

Police have confirmed to The Express Tribune that they have registered an FIR against Irshad Mukarer, a resident of the Darosh area of Chitral district, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

According to Wali Khan, the SHO of Darosh Police Station, a Chinese citizen working on the Lawi Hydro Power Project in Chitral visited a local hospital for stomach ache where doctors prescribed him some meds.

However, Irshad snapped him at the hospital and later shared it on social networking websites saying the Chinese man was infected with novel coronavirus, medically named ‘2019-nCoV’, SHO Khan added.

The disinformation whipped up fear among the local population. Authorities took serious notice of the incident and the police registered FIR against Khan, who managed to get pre-arrest bail.

Chinese man with coronavirus symptoms put into isolation ward in Islamabad hospital

Irshad, however, denied sharing any post on social media. “I was visiting the hospital to enquire after the health of an ailing relative where I saw the Chinese man who was in severe pain and I asked for his proper diagnosis,” he told The Express Tribune. He added that he was a social worker and had also contested the 2013 general elections.

Irshad went on to add that the charges against him were baseless and that the police twisted his words and registered the FIR against him under the Maintenance of Public Order.

The social media post allegedly shared by Irshad whipped up panic among local population who requested the district administration and health officials to test all Chinese nationals working on the Lawi Hydro Power Project for coronavirus.

Earlier a young student was admitted to the Saidu Sharif Hospital in Swat with flu symptoms, triggering rumours that he suffered from the novel coronavirus. However, his medical tests later confirmed that he had flu which was not responding to conventional medicines.

The novel coronavirus, which originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, has claimed more than 400 lives and infected over 20,000 people – mostly in China as of Tuesday. The deadly contagion has, meanwhile, spread to more than two dozen other countries of the world, setting off global alarm bells.