Following the footsteps of tech giant Google, the Indian state of Maharashtra has warned people against celebrating 1st April while appealing to people to abstain from spreading lies and jokes for fun.
Anil Deshmukh, the Home Minister of Maharashtra, which has the second-highest number of positive COVID-19 cases at 198, has said stern action will be undertaken against anyone found indulging in rumour-mongering on April Fools' Day due to the current situation across the globe.
The Indian state appears to be taking a cue from Google who has asked its managers to save the jokes for next year and respect those fighting the pandemic.
“Take the year off from that tradition out of respect for all those fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Our highest goal right now is to be helpful to people, so let’s save the jokes for next April, which will undoubtedly be a whole lot brighter than this one", Google chief marketing officer Lorraine Twohill was quoted saying to the media.
Police in the state's Pune have also warned people that they will face legal consequences if found to be spreading false information under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code for disobeying any order duly promulgated by a public servant. It involves a jail term that could be extended to six months or the the imposition of a fine.
As the number of coronavirus cases mounts in the country despite a lockdown, the rumour-mongering and spreading of hoax messages are feared will lead to a grave situation.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of India has also stated that “fear and panic is a bigger problem than this virus” and asked the federal government to file a status report on the steps taken to provide relief to the daily wage-earning labourers in the wake of coronavirus or COVID-19 crisis.
According to official data, the number of coronavirus cases has risen to 1,251 with 32 deaths. The states most affected are Kerala with 202 positive cases of COVID-19 and Maharashtra with 198 cases. Some 102 people have either been cured or discharged.
