The Coronavirus Collection: International Response

18 Articles

The novel coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, China, and spread to other parts of China and the rest of the world from there. Snopes fact-checks the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Snopes Staff

Published 16 March 2020

As COVID-19 spread from China to the rest of the world in early 2020, rumors emerged about how various countries were (or weren’t) coping with the pandemic.

Check out the other categories to read the rest of our COVID-19 fact checks.

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Is China Building a Hospital in 10 Days to Treat Coronavirus Patients? Millions of people are quarantined in China to prevent the spread of the virus.

Fact Check

True

Does Video Show Guns, Violence in Aftermath of Coronavirus Outbreak in China? Speculation does not equal evidence.

Fact Check

Miscaptioned

China’s Official Newspaper Mislabels Video Footage in Coronavirus Coverage A People's Daily video claiming to show "full-front disinfection work" in Wuhan included footage taken...

News

Is China Seeking Approval to Kill 20,000 Coronavirus Patients? A disreputable website spread unfounded claims in the wake of a new coronavirus outbreak.

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False

Do Sulfur Emissions from Wuhan, China, Point to Mass Cremation of Coronavirus Victims? A data map that appeared in a popular Twitter thread did not show what some...

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False

Did Millions of Canceled Cellphones Reveal Unreported Coronavirus Deaths in China? American intelligence agencies have concluded that the Chinese government itself does not know the true...

Fact Check

Unproven

Did Kim Jong Un Order North Korea’s First Coronavirus Patient To Be Executed? Rumors from North Korea are notoriously difficult to fact check.

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Unproven

Did a Doctor in Italy Warn Coronavirus Wasn’t Just a ‘Bad Flu’? Physician: "The situation is now nothing short of dramatic. No other words come to mind."

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Correct Attribution

Did Italy Confirm Almost 200 Coronavirus Deaths in 24 Hours? As of early March 2020, Italy had seen the worst COVID-19 outbreak outside Asia.

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True

Has Italy Stopped Treating the Elderly in the COVID-19 Pandemic? A viral social media post claimed Italian doctors were not treating older patients with coronavirus...

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Mixture

Did Dolphins and Swans ‘Return’ to Italian Waterways Amid COVID-19 Lockdown? A few wildlife sightings were excitedly shared across social media as a note of sunny...

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Mixture

Did Chinese Doctors Confirm African People Are Genetically Resistant to Coronavirus? Misinformation about the coronavirus outbreak seems to have traveled farther than the virus itself.

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False

Did the Kenyan Government Have Maasai Tribe Whip People To Enforce Curfew? Humor doesn't always translate from one culture to the next.

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Miscaptioned

Are the Himalayas Visible from Northern India for First Time in 30 Years? Pollution levels in India did drop dramatically in April 2020, but beyond that the story...

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Mixture

Did an Irish Times Column Express ‘Pity’ for the US? A scathing opinion column was copied and pasted then circulated online, prompting some to question...

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Correct Attribution

Are Dutch Restaurants Letting People Dine in Personal Pods During COVID-19 Pandemic? One restaurant's proposed solution to dining out during the COVID-19 pandemic went viral on social...

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Mixture

Did Tanzania’s President Expose Faulty COVID-19 Testing by Submitting Non-Human Samples? Viral social media posts claimed Tanzanian President John Magufuli used samples from a fruit, quail,...

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Unproven

Are These New Zealanders Celebrating the End of COVID-19 Restrictions? In June 2020, New Zealand lifted all social distancing restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic...

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True