Prince William under fire for joking about coronavirus

The Prince's comment about him "spreading" the coronavirus have been critcised by the public

Prince William at a reception in Dublin as part of his three-day visit to Ireland, joked around with health workers about him and wife Kate Middelton possibly "spreading" the coronavirus, reported CNN.

A video clip surfaced on social media that shows the duke making the comment. "By the way, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are spreading coronavirus, Sorry. We're keeping an eye on that, so do tell us if we need to stop," he said.

The comments drew outrage on social media with many  criticising the couple.

Prince William, SHAME ON YOU joking about Coronavirus! That might be like your Mother joking about A.I.D.S., of which one of my brothers died.

— Suzi Ropiequet (@ropiequet_suzi) March 5, 2020

"Prince William asks emergency workers if they think disease is being hyped up by media". News flash dick head: it is a grave situation. Can't you read any of he freely available medical journals showing the seriousness of #COVID19 ?https://t.co/19kVMdfejo

— Roobarb (@_Roobarb_) March 5, 2020

https://twitter.com/GinaKaos/status/1235385375243341837

Not long ago, Kate Middleton had a laugh at a homeless shelter. Today Prince William scoffs at people panicking as a result of the melodramatic rhetoric about coronavirus.

What a charming couple. https://t.co/BhAgLvejjx

— Marc 🏳️‍🌈🚍📚 (@MarcWinsland) March 3, 2020

One user talked about how its not the first time the two have made light of a serious situation. "Not long ago, Kate Middleton had a laugh at a homeless shelter. Today Prince William scoffs at people panicking as a result of the melodramatic rhetoric about coronavirus. What a charming couple," the person tweeted.

Another user pointed out how the joke is unethical . "I don't think it's that funny in fact I think it's very asinine and rude Prince William jokes that he and Kate are spreading coronavirus," the user's tweet read.

Among other things, William had talked about the public reaction against the dieses being overly dramatic. "I bet everyone's like 'I've got coronavirus, I'm dying,' and you're like 'no, you've just got a cough," he said to Joe Mooney an advance paramedic with the National Ambulance Service.

The prince had also said that the media is blowing things out of proportion. "It does seem quite dramatic about coronavirus at the moment. Is it being a little hyped up, do you think, by the media?" he said.

The Royal Couple had reportedly shook hands with plenty of people on the first day of their tour to Ireland. Earlier this week, a photo of Willian's grandmother , Queen Elizabeth II showed her wearing gloves at a public engagement. The Buckingham Palace has subsequently clarified that it wasn't due to the coronavirus outbreak adding that such attire is common for the monarch.

In the UK around 85 people have been confirmed as positive out of the 16.659 tested for coronavirus.

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