Same surname leads to major panic

Confusion over the identity of an Indian – a man from Mumbai who became the first coronavirus patient in Rwanda in central Africa – led to alleged harassment of

Confusion over the identity of an Indian – a man from Mumbai who became the first coronavirus patient in Rwanda in central Africa – led to alleged harassment of a shopkeeper, originally from India, who shares the same surname.

HT Image

As the news broke, the identity card of a 61-year-old, who originally belongs to Ahmedabad, Gujarat and has been living in Rwanda with his family for 14 years, was circulated on social media, with the caption “This Indian has spread the virus in Rwanda”.

On Saturday afternoon, a group of people, along with mediapersons, came to his supermarket. Anxious residents started demanding testing of all customers who visited his shop.

“I was confused about the situation as I was standing healthy in front of them. As a businessman, this could have affected my work. I don’t know who spread this rumour,” said the man, talking to HT from Rwanda. “Later, I was told that the infected person shares my surname, so people thought it was me as my shop is well-known in the area,” he added.

When the ministry of health got to know about this situation, they immediately intervened and issued a statement.

“The ID card circulating on social media belongs to the 61-year-old who is not infected with COVID-19 and is not connected to the confirmed COVID-19 case announced earlier. The ministry of health condemns in the strongest terms the sharing of unverified information,” read the statement.

Following this, the panic reduced and some people even apologised to him.

“People here are very helpful and after the misunderstanding was cleared, they came to my shop and even apologised. People keep asking me if I know the patient but I know no idea who he is. I pray for his quick recovery,” he said.