BMC apologises to John Abraham after posters on COVID-19 and pets

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) apologised to actor John Abraham after mistakenly putting up hoardings and pamphlets stating that coronavirus can spread through animals. According to Mumbai Mirror, the BMC and 16 other corporations had put up hoardings and posters claiming that the virus can spread through wild and pet animals, a claim which has not yet been substantiated by the medical community. Abraham, an animal welfare activist, tweeted: “Animals do not get or transmit Covid 19... Please don’t be misinformed.”

The BMC replied to the post through its Twitter handle: “Sir, We regret the misinformation that led to panic among pet owners. We too love pets & hence as soon as this was brought to our notice, all of these hoarding were removed with immediate effect. We request you to help spread the message & help us keep Mumbai safe. Thank you!”

Novel coronavirus cases in India had risen to 341 on Sunday after fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country. The total includes 41 foreign nationals and four deaths reported from Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra so far.

"The total number of active COVID-19 cases across India stands at 296 so far," the ministry said, adding that 24 others have been cured/discharged/migrated while four have died. Maharashtra has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases at 74, including three foreigners. 10 more positive cases were reported in the last 24 hours, officials said, of which, 6 are in Mumbai and 4 in Pune.

Maharashtra is followed by Kerala with 52 cases totally, including those of seven foreign nationals. Delhi has reported 27 positive cases, which include one foreigner, while Uttar Pradesh has recorded 25 cases, including one foreigner. Telangana has reported 21 cases, including 11 foreigners. Rajasthan has reported 24 cases, including two foreigners. In Haryana, there are 17 cases, which include 14 foreigners. Karnataka has 20 coronavirus patients. Punjab and Ladakh have 13 cases each. Gujarat has 14 cases while Tamil Nadu has 6 cases which includes 2 foreigners. Chandigarh has five cases.