Officials at Wenlock District Hospital in Mangaluru filed a complaint with the city police seeking action against people circulating videos claiming to show a man infected with coronavirus at their hospital.
In two videos, a man wearing a white shirt and pink trousers can be seen struggling to catch his breath while lying on a bed. A message along with the video claimed that the video was from the isolation ward at Wenlock District Hospital, the hospital handling cases related to COVID-19 in Mangaluru.
The video surfaced on social media on Sunday when the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Mangaluru. However, Dr Rajeshwari, Medical Superintendent of Wenlock District Hospital, refuted the claims made in the video. A doctor who works at the same hospital told TNM that the hospital does not have blue beds and that they have not treated the patient who appears in the videos.
A complaint was launched at the Mangaluru South police station seeking action against those circulating the video. Mangaluru Police Commissioner PS Harsha said that a case would be registered in connection with the video. "Lot of rumour mongering is going on in connection with COVID-19. In one such case allegedly misinformation is being spread about Wenlock Hospital. Based on complaint of medical authorities a case would be registered and strict legal action will follow. Desist rumours," Harsha said in a tweet.
The hospital further clarified it had eight separate rooms to treat cases of COVID-19 in the hospital. "One person is kept isolated in one room and their throat swab is collected for testing. If the tests run on him come back negative twice, they are sent home after the 14-day quarantine period is over," said a statement from a hospital official.
The official clarified that the hospital was equipped to deal with cases of COVID-19, as per World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
So far the hospital has reported one case of COVID-19, a man from Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada who landed at the Mangaluru International Airport and was isolated at the Wenlock District Hospital.