Since last month, there has been a gradual spike in COVID-19 cases in India. On March 15 Times Now reported that Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa met with experts to decide on restrictions and lockdown possibilities. In the backdrop of this, a four-minute clip of CM Yediyurappa announcing details of various restrictions has been widely shared on WhatsApp.
It was also uploaded by YouTube channel Kannada Rathna TV on March 17.
Fact-check
The viral video has been clipped from a section of News First Kannada’s broadcast that aired last year in March. The video is titled on YouTube тАУ ‘Mall, Theatre, School will be shut for A Week in Karnataka’.
A report in Deccan Herald from March 2020 said, “On March 13, the government ordered the closure of malls, theatres, multiplexes, clubs and pubs and other commercial establishments where people gather in large numbers for a week. The government also declared a holiday for colleges and universities.”
BBMP commissioner N. Manjunatha Prasad had also tweeted about the restrictions on March 13.
To prevent the spread of #coronavirus & communicable diseases, Karnataka Govt has decided not to allow gathering at public places like pubs, clubs, malls, theatres, schools, colleges, summer camps, swimming pools, stadiums, marriages etc for a week from tomorrow.#BBMP #Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/rR54GFWiOS
тАФ N. Manjunatha Prasad,IAS (@BBMPCOMM) March 13, 2020
Thus, a March 2020 clip of CM Yediyurappa announcing restrictions in public places due to COVID has been shared as recent. The Chief Minister has ruled out lockdown and night curfew to contain the recent spread of the virus. However, he said that the government will “strictly regulate” large indoor gatherings that violate COVID protocols.
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