Fact Check: Viral Post On Coronavirus Symptoms Falsely Attributed To AIIMS

New Delhi (Vishvas News): A post going viral on social media claims that AIIMS has issued a statement on the symptoms and causes of coronavirus and other respiratory diseases. When Vishvas News investigated, we found that the post is falsely attributed to AIIMS. The viral post is fake.

Claim

A post shared on Facebook by a user named Rajkumar Bhati reads: “Please note the differences: (1) dry cough + sneeze = air pollution (2) cough + mucus + sneeze + runny nose = common cold (3) Cough + mucus + sneeze + runny nose + body ache + weakness + light fever = flu (4) Dry cough + sneeze + body pain + weakness + high fever + difficulty breathing = coronavirus. Pathology department AIIMS, Delhi. Make this message available to as many people as possible!” The archived version of the post can be checked here.

Investigation

Vishvas News searched the claims on the social media handles and website of AIIMS. We did not find any such statement on AIIMS portals as mentioned in the viral post.

Also, AIIMS has a separate portal on COVID-19 by the name AIIMS COVID PORTAL. But it doesn’t mention the statement as in the viral post.

Vishvas News contacted Dr. BR Mirdha of the Microbiology department, AIIMS over text message and discussed the viral claim. He refuted the viral post calling it as fake. He said: This is an old message and is falsely attributed to AIIMS.

COVID-19 may affect different people differently. According to Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention (CDC), people with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

This list does not include all possible symptoms. CDC will continue to update this list as they learn more about COVID-19.

The post is shared on Facebook by a user named Rajkumar Bhati. When Vishvas News scanned the profile of the user we found that the user is based out of Greater Noida.

Conclusion

No, AIIMS has not released a statement explaining symptoms of coronavirus or other diseases. Also, COVID-19 affects different people differently. The viral post is fake.

Disclaimer: The #CoronavirusFacts database records fact-checks published since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic and its consequences are constantly evolving and data that was accurate weeks or even days ago might have changed. Remember to check the date when the fact-check you are reading was published before sharing it.