Are schools in AP, Telangana closed due to rising Covid-19 cases? Fact Check

A post is being shared on social media saying that two Telugu state governments have announced holidays for educational institutions in the wake of new Corona cases of JN.1 variant being registered in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The message has included a TV9 news report that states the same. The text clearly shows: “Telangana Holidays 28/12/23 To 18/01/24.” Digiteye India received a request to do a fact-check on the claim on its WhatsApp tipline.

FACT CHECK

When Digiteye India checked for the authenticity of the claim, the report was shared on Instagram. The video being shared had some dates superimposed on the video to make it look recent. But TV9 news channel has not made any such news story in recent weeks after the JN.1 Corona variant cases were reported in the two Telugu-speaking states since December 2023.

Further search on TV9 news archives revealed that the news report was an old one published on 18th March, 2020 when the Corona started picking up in India and the lockdown was imposed all over the country due to the pandemic.

The news report in Telugu states: ““ఏపీ కీలక నిర్ణయం.. విద్యాసంస్థలు బంద్” [Translated into English, it reads: “AP Key Decision… Schools Bandh”]

When we searched for news reports on schools being closed in AP and Telangana in recent days due to JN.1 variant of Coronavirus or Covid-19, no such announcement was made by the two Telugu state governments. It was not reported by any TV news channel or local newspaper, or by the TV9 Telugu.

Currently, the increase in Covid-19 cases in the country has been minimal, and the Centre issued guidelines to the states to be vigilant on such cases and keep the hospitals prepared for any hike in the number of cases. Accordingly, both AP and Telangana government has issued several instructions alerting hospitals in view of the rise in Covid-19 cases.

Hence, the claim that the two Telugu state governments have announced holidays for educational institutions due to the rise in Covid-19 cases is false, and the old 2020 video is being shared to support the claim.

Claim: Two Telugu state governments have announced holidays for educational institutions in the wake of rising Corona cases.

Conclusion: Telugu state governments have not declared holidays for educational institutions in the wake of current Covid-19 cases. An old March 2020 video is being shared now.

Rating: Misleading —