The publication has been shared more than 893 times.
An image has been shared thousands of times in multiple Facebook posts that state that the province of Punjab in Pakistan issued a warning against the consumption of goat meat for 60 days after an outbreak of coronavirus in cattle. The claim is false; the Punjab Food Authority issued a statement denying that such warnings had been issued, and a spokesman for the National Health Institute of Pakistan said AFP There was no evidence that the new coronavirus was spreading among cattle in the country.
The image was posted here on Facebook on January 28, 2020. It shows a picture of a goat and bears the Punjab Food Authority logo on a banner at the bottom.
The publication has been shared more than 893 times.
Below is a screenshot of Facebook’s misleading post:
The Urdu language text in the image is translated into English as: "Very urgent message. Also in Pakistan, a coronavirus alert was issued. For the next 60 days, try not to eat goat meat. In Pakistan, the signs of this virus has started appearing in goats. Share this message as much as you can so that the lives of your own people can be saved. ”
A new strain of coronavirus, which is believed to have originated in a wildlife market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed at least 213 people in China and infected nearly ten thousand more according to this. AFP report published on January 31, 2020.
Doctors have identified cases in at least a dozen other countries, as reported here by AFP, but Pakistan is not among those with a confirmed case.
The same image was also shared hundreds of times here, here, here, here and here on Facebook with a similar claim.
This claim is false; The Punjab Food Authority issued a statement on its Facebook page on January 29, 2020, labeling the image as "false.”
The publication says: "Be careful. This publication published on behalf of the Punjab Food Authority is false.”
Below is a screenshot of the Punjab Food Authority Facebook post:
Wasif Malik, a physician in the Division of Field Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance at the National Institute of Health of Pakistan, the leading organization that monitors the new outbreak of coronavirus in the country, said AFP by phone on January 29, 2019 that there was no evidence that the virus was spreading among goats.
"So far we know that the virus was present in bats and snakes in China and all scientists agree with him, but there is no evidence of the presence of coronaviruses in other animals,” Malik said.
"In Pakistan, no animal has been reported to carry the virus, so people can consume goat meat without any concern.”
Header photo: An official from the Chinese company based in Pakistan (R) uses a thermal gun to check the temperature of the company’s drivers, in Islamabad, on January 30, after receiving instructions from the Pakistani authorities to take preventive measures against coronavirus. – AFP
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Source: dawn news