The government has set up a portal to curb the menace of fake news and to clarify any doubts regarding the coronavirus crisis in India.
Called the COVID-19 Fact Check Unit, the portal is made by the Press Information Bureau of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and will be made operational from the morning of April 2 to receive messages by email and respond in quick time.
As per the press statement, the Ministry of Health has set up a Technical Group consisting of professionals from AIIMS, etc. to clarify any doubts in the minds of the general public on any technical aspect of COVID 19.
"The Cabinet Secretary has today written to all the State Governments informing them of the constitution of 11 Empowered Groups under the Disaster Management Act with clear cut mandate to decide on various aspects of management of COVID 19, with a request to develop similar mechanism at the State level," the statement further adds.
The Health Department has also issued guidelines to deal with psychological issues amongst migrants and state governments have been asked to engage volunteers to supervise the welfare activities of the migrants.
The Press Information Bureau will release a daily Bulletin at 8 pm every day to inform regarding government’s decisions and developments and progress on COVID-19. The first bulletin was released on Wednesday evening at 6.30 PM.
The Supreme Court had on Tuesday (March 31) directed the Centre to set up a portal to disseminate real-time information on the coronavirus crisis within 24 hours. The portal will counter fake news that creates panic among people.
Observing that panic will destroy more lives than the virus itself, the apex court asked the government to get trained counsellors and community leaders of all faiths to calm down the migrants and take care of their food, shelter and medical needs.
