作者： bharat.cn

Sales have dropped by 80 per cent in some areas, and clarifications put out by the industry have failed to stem the panic

Volunteers distributed about 6,000kg of chicken delicacies and 20,000 boiled egg recipes free of cost to thousands of people in the southern Indian state of Telangana over the weekend as part of a campaign organised by the poultry industry to quell rumours surrounding the coronavirus outbreak.
Speculation is rife on Indian cyberspace platforms over possible avian links to the deadly Covid-19 disease, which has spread across the world and killed over 3,200 people, mostly in China.
With no substantiation, several messages are circulating in messaging platforms, particularly on WhatsApp, stating that the coronavirus could be transmitted via chicken meat. There have been a number of outbreaks of various strains of bird flu since it emerged in Hong Kong in 1997, resulting in the culling of 1.5 million chickens, ducks and geese, but these strains are not linked to Covid-19.
At the poultry industry event, lawmakers and celebrities were seen devouring chicken drumsticks on stage to encourage people to consume the meat.
Similar efforts are undertaken in other parts of the country to combat the fake news and rumours spreading on social media.
Such fears have grown given that India now has 28 confirmed cases of coronavirus infections, with 16 Italian tourists testing positive for Covid-19 in New Delhi.

2019冠状病毒疫情暴发期间远赴印度的医院拍摄节目，本地艺人林明伦坦言出发前有些忐忑，但后来发现情况并不如想像中危险，最后更决定不戴口罩入镜。 林明伦上个月中随着堂堂映画的摄制队到印度的那格浦尔（Nagpur）拍摄新节目《特别的食物给特别的你》。他接受《联合晚报》访问时说：“我从越南拍完节目回来，就听说新剧的记者会取消了，一些节目的拍摄也受到影响，疫情似乎挺严重，而我们要去到印度的医院里拍摄，老婆当时问我还要去吗？我也确实有点担心。” 不过，林明伦和节目监制谈过之后，对方表示会尽力确保团队的安全，他便决定依照计划出发，“我事前和导演沟通后决定一进到医院就戴上口罩，拍摄时也和受访者保持安全距离。但到了当地，我发现那里的疫情并没有很严重。”

他观察环境后决定不戴口罩入镜，“医院里的医生和护士都没有戴口罩，我戴的话有点奇怪。但我有注意安全，拍摄期间不和其他人握手或者有身体接触，一离开病房就不碰触脸部，还勤加洗手和消毒。” 节目的导演余俊权受访时说，他被林明伦的专业感动，“明伦心里可能也很矛盾，而且有所顾虑，但他为了节目决定不戴口罩。” 余俊权坦言，这次带队到印度压力不小，既要拍好节目也要顾及团队的安全，“但我们是评估了风险后才决定去的。我们有工作人员负责照顾大家，为大家准备口罩和消毒液，也帮我们量体温，确保大家的健康。我们已经回来一个星期了，大家身体都没问题。”

印度宣布事先向未入境的日本人等发放的签证无效，暂时禁止入境。

印度健康及家庭福利部3日宣布，以日本、韩国、伊朗和意大利4国为对象，即使持有当地大使馆等发放的签证，未入境的情况下也将暂时禁止入境。印度从2月底开始限制“落地签”等签证，此次扩大了限制对象。2月1日之后还限制曾到访上述4国的外国人入境。