Did police publicly kill a coronavirus-infected woman in China?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Novel Coronavirus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Scientists have mapped the genomic sequence of the virus but are still researching the source of the virus.

In light of the health emergency, social media is filled with several false narratives claiming to have found the source and cure to destroy the coronavirus, which is creating panic among the citizens of different countries.

A video showing Policemen dragging a woman out of a car and pinning her to the ground is going viral on Facebook with the claim that cops in China publicly killed a woman infected with coronavirus. The video shows police men trying to overpower the woman after dragging her out of a car. The woman seems to have lost consciousness, after which she is taken in a police van.

The post reads “A lady Infected by Corona virus killed by Chinese police on the road.”

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Fact Check-  

Taking a hint from the video we started our investigation by using “woman was forced out of her car by police” keywords on YouTube and found a video uploaded on 7th of February 2020. The headline of the video reads, “The woman was forced out of her car by the police.” The description of the video mentioned, “The government of HeiLongJiang province in China bans all private cars on the street. The police pulled a woman out of her car as she refused to receive the notice served to her by the police men. What a violent and insane way to treat a woman like that!

We found a longer version of the viral video on a Chinese YouTube channel Vision Times. Here we can see the woman sitting beside the driver, talking on a mobile phone with a mask on her face. Police officers can be seen waiting outside the car. Then suddenly she is being dragged out of the car by the same cops. The YouTube Headline in Chinese read as, “Heilongjiang Province has closed the province. Private cars are forbidden to go on the road. The woman was violently stunned by the police and carried to the police car because she did not know!”

We found similar news report by New Tang Dynasty Television, according to the report; China has banned private cars in several provinces including Heilongjiang. In this particular video, the woman did not know about the notification, and police officers forced her out of the car and took her into custody. During the scuffle, she lost her senses and was taken to a police van. People on social media criticized the police for their violent action. However the report does not mention that the woman was infected with coronavirus or that she was killed by the police.

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Conclusion- Fact Crescendo concluded that this story is False. The viral video on social media is not related to Coronavirus. The woman in the viral video was taken into custody for violating traffic restrictions in China’s Heilongjiang province.