A viral message is circulating in social media on coronavirus urging people not to get out of their houses after 10 PM and stay in till 5 AM as ‘there will be spraying [of] medicine in the air to kill COVID-19’.

Multiple Fake news claims:

A viral message is circulating in social media on coronavirus urging people not to get out of their houses after 10 PM and stay in till 5 AM as ‘there will be spraying [of] medicine in the air to kill COVID-19’. The message seems to be circulating in many cities and is being attributed to the respective local authorities. “Hello, I kindly request you not to come out of your house after 10 pm tonight till tomorrow at 5 am…As there will be spraying medicine in the air in order to kill the COVID-19!! Share this information with all your friends, relatives, and your families. Thank you’’.

The message is also circulating on WhatsApp in Gujarati. “મ્યુનિસિપલ કમિશનરનો સંદેશ * * કૃપા કરીને ધ્યાનથી સાંભળો * નમસ્તે, સૌને નમ્ર વિનંતી છે કે આવતીકાલે રાત્રે 10 વાગ્યા પછી કાલે સવારે 5 વાગ્યા સુધી તમારા ઘરની બહાર ન આવવા …. કેમકે તેઓ COVID-19 ને મારવા માટે હવામાં દવા છાંટશે. આ માહિતી તમારા બધા મિત્રો, સંબંધીઓ અને તમારા પરિવારોને શેર કરો … આભાર!”, reads the same text in Gujarati.

Facts Check Verdict: False / Fake

News Verification:

Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) fact-check wing has totally denied this rumour and clarified, “NO such action has been planned out by the Indian Government.”

Amidst #Coronavirusoutbreak, misinformation on CV Vaccine gas spread out through Airplanes is circulating on social media
NO such action has been planned out by the Indian Government.

Get your facts from trusted sources. Do not amplify #fakenews! pic.twitter.com/8F5ksKKBEm

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) March 17, 2020

Karnataka’s Department of Information and Public Relations too debunked  the rumour that Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will be “spraying medicine in the air in order to take precautionary measure”. Karnataka DIPR wrote, “Kindly do not believe in any rumor until it is issued from the authentic officials as circular.”

Just wanted to confirm
Is this is true @BBMPCOMM @BBMP_MAYOR #Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/jjyvFtnHhS

— Pavana | ಪವನ (@LRhamnose) March 18, 2020

An article by Pakistani news outlet Dawn reported that the news going viral in Pakistan. A similar rumour of the “special military helicopters” planning to spray pesticides against coronavirus was shared in the Pakistani social media ecosystem.

Therefore No medicine will be sprayed in the air to kill coronavirus it is just a rumour.