A video capturing a mock drill in Pune's Deccan Corner area to test the response of emergency services to a COVID-19 patient, is being shared online as a real incident.
The video shot at Deccan Corner, one of the busiest junctions of the city, shows paramedics dressed in hazmat suits carry away a man who has collapsed on a pavement.
Figures of COVID-19 infections and related deaths in the district have been high with respect to other districts of Maharashtra. According to the daily bulletin from the District Health Officer, Bhagwan Pawar, Pune District witnessed 13 new deaths on June 23, an all time high, bringing the total number of deaths to 617.
The mock drill video is being shared out of context online.
The clip has been captioned as, "Corona patients have started appearing in public places on the streets of Pune. The situation is really serious. Take care of yourself and your family .... Stay safe."
(Original caption in Marathi: पुण्यातील रस्त्यांवर कोरोनाचे रुग्ण सार्वजानिक ठिकाणी सापडण्यास सुरवात झाली आहे, भयानक परिस्थिती आहे, सर्वांनीच आपली व आपल्या कुटुंबाची काळजी घ्या ....सुरक्षित रहा .) Click here and here to view archives of the viral video on Facebook.
The same clip is doing the rounds on Twitter as a real incident.
The clip was also sent to BOOM's helpline number for verification, with the caption, which compared Pune to be the next Wuhan of China, where the novel Coronavirus is believed to have originated.
Video is a mock drill
Mayor of Pune, Murlidhar Mohol, in a tweet rubbished the viral messages that have been doing rounds with the video and confirmed that it was a mock drill which was conducted on June 23. Mohol shared the same viral clip in his tweet and stated that it was a routine exercise 'to check agility of government response agencies,' and reiterated that the same clip was being used to raise panic among citizens.
According to a report by The Times of India, the mock drill was conducted by the civic administration on June 23 to check its preparedness to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak and other diseases like dengue and malaria. Two places, including the junction shown in the viral clip, and Balgandharva Chowk, were selected for the mock drill. The report further stated that the mock drill was conducted by the the insect control wing of the Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) Shivajinagar-Ghole Road ward office.
BOOM also reached out to Deepak Lagad, inspector, Deccan Police Station, who corroborated the same.
"The Pune Police was not involved in the mock drill. Cops on patrol stopped to control traffic when the mock drill was in progress on Tuesday."