A video of a mass grave which purports to be bodies of coronavirus fatalities in Italy circulates in social media platforms as the country records the highest death toll in the world with more than 10,000 deaths.
The video which became most viral in WhatsApp was of a TV anchor giving a commentary about the situation. Netizens on Facebook and Twitter ignited the speculations that the video is a documentation of what is currently happening in Italy.
However, the India Today went ahead and fact-checked the video leading to the revelation that it is indeed a misleading claim and the viral video is a scene from the 2007 miniseries "Pandemic."
In the video, the TV anchor can be heard talking about a city that was hardly hit by the riptide virus and informing the public that the city's morgues have piled up and have reached maximum capacity, which prompted the digging of mass graves.
Taking clue from the words "riptide virus", the fact-checking outlet confirmed that it was indeed a scene from the series. In the series, the riptide virus was an offshoot of the Avian Influenza, based on the series.
Italy COVID-19 Crisis: Death toll is now the highest in the world at 10,023
At the moment, Italy has tallied the second-highest number of cases with more than 92,000 cases. Meanwhile, US has become the new epicenter of the pandemic after passing the 100,000-mark in terms of cases; In China, on the other hand, which is where the virus first emerged, cases have been slowing down and they only reported at least 81,000 cases right now.
However, despite the US having the highest number of cases, Italy still leads in the number of deaths, according to data by Johns Hopkins University and Medicine.
Also read: 101-Year-Old Man Who Survived 1918 Spanish Influenza, Also Beats COVID-19
With the world wondering why Italy's death toll is much higher compared to other countries, it could be attributed to the country's large population of the elderly, being the second country with the oldest population in the world. Thus, making at least 23 % of their citizens more susceptible to the virus.
On top of this, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Saturday that he had approved new measures which would help those who have been severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis through giving a supply of shopping vouchers and food packages.
Italy to extend restrictions despite fall in number of daily fatalities
On the brighter side of things, as of Sunday, the number of deaths in Italy has gone lower that the previous days. However, despite the drop on the number of fatalities, Regional Affairs Minister Francesco Boccia said that the restriction measures implemented in the country which is set to expire on Friday might be extended.
Furthermore, Boccia added that the additional time for restrictions would be set by the country's Prime Minister and would be based on the data from both the scientific and medical community.
According to Italian media, it has been speculated that the extension could last for another two weeks.
