Fact Check: Areas of Meerut Sealed to check Outbreak of New Covid Strain, Viral Video Passed Off As Lucknow

New Delhi (Vishvas News): A video doing rounds on Facebook shows some men gathered together and an announcement is being made. As per the announcement, Sant Vihar and Mansarovar areas have been sealed till Jan 11, 2021, and those are containment zones. It is being advised in the video that people residing in these areas should not step out of their houses for their safety. The claim alongside the post states that these areas are in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and have been sealed as the new COVID-19 strain has been detected in these areas.

Vishvas News investigated and found the viral post to be misleading. The areas being mentioned in the video are in Meerut, not Lucknow. Sant Vihar and Mansarovar areas of Meerut have been sealed to check the outbreak of New Covid Strain.

Claim

A video shared on Facebook by a page named Aman Communication shows some men making an announcement. The claim alongside the video reads: “News from #Lucknow-: # Case of new strain of Corona!! In Sant Vihar and Mansarovar areas, people are not allowed to move out of their houses till Jan 11, 2021 # police-administration making an # Announcement.”

The archived version of the post can be checked here.

Investigation

Vishvas News searched reports on Google using keywords ‘new coronavirus strain in Sant Vihar and Mansarovar’.

We found a report on the Times of India website dated Jan 1, 2021, with the headline ‘Meerut seals Sant Vihar & Mansarovar areas to check the outbreak of New Covid Strain.’

As per the announcement, the areas have been sealed till Jan 11, 2021.

The article reads: “Sant Vihar and Mansarovar areas in Meerut have been sealed for the fear of the spread of the new strain of Covid-19. While the two-year-old girl who tested positive for the new Covid-19 strain resided in Sant Vihar, another UK returnee who tested positive for the old Covid-19 strain lived in Mansarovar. This is why the two areas have been sealed as a precautionary measure, said Meerut’s district magistrate K Balaji.”

We also found a report on Jagran.com stating that the new COVID-19 strains have been detected in Meerut and the two-year-old girl who tested positive for the new Covid-19 strain resided in Sant Vihar.

We found multiple news reports confirming the incident.

This is confirmed that the places being referred to in the video are in Meerut and not in Lucknow.

We confirmed by contacting Dharmendra Pandey, the digital in-charge of Dainik Jagran, Lucknow. He denied any such incident happening in Lucknow. He said: “This video is not from Lucknow.”

We scanned the profile of the Facebook page named Aman Communication. We found that the page has 25,428 followers.

Conclusion: Vishvas News investigated and found the viral post to be misleading. Sant Vihar and Mansarovar areas that have been declared as COVID-19 containment zones and have been mentioned in the video are in Meerut, not Lucknow. ant Vihar and Mansarovar areas of Meerut have been sealed to check the outbreak of New Covid Strain.

Tags

• Coronavirus
• CoronaVirusFacts
• COVID19