There is no space in the hospitals in Italy because people are crowding outside.
CLAIM, Several photos of people covered in blankets sitting on the roadside, hospital patients carrying babies and groups of people pushing incubators with babies inside are going viral as from Italy., Many people have shared these photos on social media claiming that they show the havoc coronavirus has wreaked on Italy’s healthcare system, forcing people on the streets., “This is Italy. There is no more space in the hospitals. Think twice before you put your foot outside the house,” the viral message accompanying the photos reads., Many others shared the same post on Facebook., Postcard News co-founder Mahesh Hegde and Akali Dal spokesperson Manjinder Singh Sirsa also shared the same photos without any context, making it seem that this had happened because of the effect of coronavirus., (Click here for live updates on COVID-19. Also visit Quint Fit for comprehensive coverage on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.), TRUE OR FALSE?, The claim with the pictures is false. While these photos are both real and recent, they are actually from Croatia’s capital Zagreb, which was rocked by a powerful earthquake on 22 March., The earthquake left one teenager and sixteen other people injured, including another minor who was badly hurt, and the 5.3 magnitude quake caused fires and power blackouts in parts of the capital, Reuters reported., This came amid the lockdown in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic., WHAT WE FOUND, On conducting a reverse search on the photos, we found many people on Twitter saying that they were from Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, in the aftermath of the earthquake., "On looking through news reports, we found that Croatia suffered a strong earthquake on Sunday which caused panic, the evacuation of hospitals and widespread damage including to the capitals iconic cathedral, amid the partial coronavirus lockdown, according to Al Jazeera.", Marijana Petir, the Republic of Croatia’s representative in the European Parliament, took to Twitter in the aftermath of the quake to share some photos and pray for the country., All newborns in #Zagreb are in a safe place, thank #God and good people. #earthquake #COVIDã\x83¼19 #PrayForCroatia pic.twitter.com/qsygY8WKjY, Two of these photos – the women carrying their babies and the men with incubators – are among those that are viral as Italy., Martin & Valent Sinković, two athlete brothers from Croatia also shared more photos, including the above two., Two massive earthquakes hit our hometown #Zagreb..as if COVID-19 wasnâ\x80\x99t enough ð\x9f\x98\x94We are safe, hope all of you also is! Take care, STAY STRONG and follow the instructions ð\x9f\x92ª We are in this together and we will win this together â\x9d¤ï¸\x8f #CroatiaFullOfLife #volimhrvatsku pic.twitter.com/JrLw1iUkOG, Moreover, we found all the viral photos in the below post on Twitter, which also said that they were from Zagreb., A destructive 5.4 magnitude #earthquake hit Zagreb, Croatia this morning - the strongest in 140 years!ð\x9f\x92\x94 It breaks my heart to see the hospitals evacuated like this during #coronavirus with patients and mothers with their newborn babies out in the cold ð\x9f\x98© pic.twitter.com/YC6rikESHs, On looking for the photos in news reports, we found some results., Photo 1, We found the above photo in a news report by ABC, which stated that the photo showed new mothers being evacuated from a maternity ward in Zagreb., Photo 2, We found many tweets saying that the Bad Blue Boys, an ultras group which support the Croatian football club GNK Dinamo Zagreb and Futsal Dinamo, helped move incubators after the earthquake., Bad Blue Boys helping to move newborn babies and their incubators after a big earthquake has hit Zagreb and damaged a lot of the city including this hospital..Then they helped  cleaning the streets of Zagreb with the Croatian army too.22/03 pic.twitter.com/8ST7NgNzms, We also found a video of the same on Twitter and one on the news website The Independent., FC Dinamo\s soccer fans "Bad Blue Boys" are saveing newborn babies from hospital...#earthquake #Croatia#CroatiaEarthquake #Zagreb #zagrebearthquake #badblueboys â\x9d¤â\x9d¤â\x9d¤â\x9d¤â\x9d¤ð\x9f\x92ªð\x9f\x87\xadð\x9f\x87·ð\x9f\x92ªâ\x9d¤â\x9d¤â\x9d¤â\x9d¤â\x9d¤ pic.twitter.com/7HhBYddW2G, We also found a similar photo on Associated Press., Photo 3, We found the same photo on Croatian news website Total Croatia News., Photo 4, We found this photo in a news article about the quake by a website called Vrisak.info that was shared on Twitter by author and journalist Ian Fraser., "Zagreb was hit by 5.3-magnitude earthquake while in coronavirus lockdown two days ago, putting even more pressure on Croatias hospitals https://t.co/UFNf4SY9uA pic.twitter.com/tYEaqPHAcu", Therefore, it is clear that the photos are not from Italy at all, but from Croatia, and shows the effect not of coronavirus but an earthquake. However, that is not to say that Croatia is not feeling the effects of COVID-19. As of 27 March, Croatia has 495 positive cases in total and three deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker. The country is also under partial lockdown, according to news reports., You can read all our coronavirus related fact-checked stories here., "(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and well fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)", "Well get through this! Meanwhile, heres all you need to know about the Coronavirus outbreak to keep yourself safe, informed, and updated.", The Quint is now available on Telegram & WhatsApp too, Click here to join., Stay tuned with our weekly recap of what’s hot & cool by The Quint.
Fact Check On Coronavirus Effect in Italy: Photos of Croatia Quake Aftermath Viral As COVID-19 Effect in Italy