April Fools pranks amid COVID crisis could face hefty penalties
America is in serious trouble as coronavirus continues to ravage the country. The death toll for the country has skyrocketed past China’s official count with 3,500 deaths and counting.
US President Donald Trump has urged people to continue to follow social-distancing measures through April to prevent the virus from spreading.
"Every one of us has a role to play in winning this war. Every citizen, family and business can make the difference in stopping the virus," the president said, according to Al Jazeera.
"This is our shared patriotic duty. Challenging times are ahead for the next 30 days and this is a very vital 30 days," Trump told reporters at the White House.
The US currently has over 159,000 confirmed infections, which is more than any country in the world.
Around the world, Italy has reported that the infection rate appears to have levelled off and new cases could start to decline, as 11,591 people have died from the virus already. The total number of infections has surged past 100,000 with a shocking 4,050 new cases reported.
Spain is also on lockdown after surpassing China in the number of cases and quickly approaching Italy when it comes to the number of deaths. A record number of 849 people died on Tuesday, which brings the death toll to 8,189 while 85,000 people haves tested positive for the virus.
"We say to our community not to keep looking at the figures and what's going on," said Australian expat Mandy Keillor to the ABC.
"But you can't help it, because you have to be aware of what's happening."
Spain have introduced tough new lockdown rules in the country as all non-essential workers are banned from travelling to work. People are only allowed to go outside to get food, visit a chemist or walk a pet as well as carry documentation explaining the outing.
Worldwide, the total number of infections since the beginning of the outbreak have reached more than 775,000. Roughly, 160,000 people have recovered globally while nearly 37,000 have died.
Worldwide from Thailand to India, countries have told people not to make April Fools’ Day pranks related to coronavirus, with some countries threatening jail time for spreading misinformation.
Tech giant Google, which is famous for its annual spoofs, has cancelled the tradition because of the pandemic which has killed about 40,000 people worldwide.
Thailand said on Tuesday that April Fools’ Day jokes about the virus could be punished under a law carrying a sentence of up to five years in prison.
“It’s against the law to fake having COVID-19 this April Fools’ Day,” the government said on Twitter.
People around the world are suffering from #Covid19 outbreak, and that's reason enough why people should be more considerate and not use this as a prank or a joke. pic.twitter.com/DvF5A1WOv6
— PR Thai Government (@prdthailand) March 31, 2020
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen took to Facebook to tell people not to prank about the virus.
大家都說4/1是愚人節，我想提前介紹 #愚人節好運貓貓，歡迎一起分享喔！ 更重要的是，愚人節這天，忍不住的人可以發揮幽默，但切記...
Posted by 蔡英文 Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday, March 31, 2020
She introduced her followers to Good Luck Cat, but quickly explained that article 63 of the prevention of infectious diseases act, saying that spreading rumours or false information about epidemics could result in up to three years in jail and/or a fine of up to NT$3 million ($NZD 167,400).