The news aired on kannada channel claimed that four Muslim youths in Sultan Street, Bhatkal in Karnataka refused coronavirus testing for “religious reasons” after returning from Dubai.

17, March, 2020 06:16:22 PM

Multiple Fake news claims-:

The news aired on Kannada channel claimed that four Muslim youths in Sultan Street, Bhatkal in Karnataka refused coronavirus testing for “religious reasons” after returning from Dubai.

The anchor said, “Won’t get coronavirus test done. In our religion, there is no scope for the test…This is what four youths who returned from Dubai have said – that they won’t be getting (coronavirus) test done. They have come to Bhatkal, the four youths. When they were asked to get coronavirus test done because they had come from abroad, they said in our religion there is no scope for the test.”

OpIndia website tweeted, “Islam does not approve: Four Muslims who returned from Dubai threaten health officials in Karnataka, refuse to undergo Coronavirus test.”

Islam does not approve: Four Muslims who returned from Dubai threaten health officials in Karnataka, refuse to undergo Coronavirus testhttps://t.co/wTj5vDURmX
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) March 15, 2020

My Nation website also reported the alleged incident based on Public TV’s broadcast.

4 youths have refused to undergo Coronavirus tests after they returned from Dubai, saying their religion doesn’t permit them to do so. #coronavirusindia #CoronaVirusUpdates #WHO #pandemic https://t.co/FBxvPM3TLr
— MyNation (@MyNation) March 15, 2020

Facts Check Verdict: False / Fake

News Verification:

The news came from the statements given by the locals, it has not come from any health officials. The news came from some unknown person and the anchor’s criticism of the ‘irresponsible’ behaviour of the youths. To add some spice in the news it has been given religious angle by the anchor. The locals did not said that the youths refused testing due to their faith.

In news verification, we found A YouTube video of a joint press conference by the Bhatkal Deputy Superintendent (DySP) and Assistant Commissioner (AC) Bhatkal where they stated that there were no novel coronavirus cases in Bhatkal and it will be taken seriously.