Viral photo of mother ‘dying’ of Covid-19 and her baby is actually from 1985

The viral photo was clicked by American photographer Burt Glinn in 1985 at a Cancer Centre in US before the baby's bone marrow transplant.

This photograph is viral on social media claiming that the woman is dying of coronavirus | Twitter

New Delhi: A photograph of a woman in protective gear, hugging a baby has gone viral on social media, with the claims that the woman was in the ‘final stage’ of coronavirus and on the verge of death.

The accompanying post, in Hindi, reads, “The mother is in the last stage of coronavirus. As her 18 months old baby kept crying continuously, the mother told the doctors that her last wish was to hold her baby. Doctors wrapped the mother in transparent wax and as she held the baby, the crying stopped but the mother died”.

The post has been doing the rounds on Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. On Facebook, it has been shared over 500 times by various users.

बहुत ही ह्र्दयबिदारक घटनाइटली की महिला कोरोना की तीसरी ओर आखरी स्टेज में थी सामने उसका 18 महीने का बच्चा जो बहुत रो…

Dhiraj Kumar यांनी वर पोस्ट केले रविवार, १९ एप्रिल, २०२०

The image of the woman and the baby is being circulated on WhatsApp as well, with the same caption. Many of these forwards are accompanied by warning messages asking people not to take Covid-19 lightly and encouraging them to maintain social distancing norms by staying at home during the nationwide lockdown.

The photograph found its way onto Instagram and Twitter also. Several Twitter users tweeted the picture with the same sentimental caption.

बहुत ही ह्र्दयबिदारक घटना

इटली की महिला कोरोना की तीसरी ओर आखरी स्टेज में थी सामने उसका 18 महीने का बच्चा जो बहुत रो रहा था उसने अपनी आखरी इच्छा डाक्टरों से जाहिर की वो अपने बच्चे को एक बार गले लगाना चाहती हैं! pic.twitter.com/CZifSWD6GX

— TARIQUE HABIB (@TariqueHabib) April 20, 2020

Fact check

The photograph is actually from 1985 and has nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic.

The original image was taken by American photographer Burt Glinn at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, in Seattle, US. The baby photographed was irradiated before a bone marrow transplant and the mother held the infant inside a laminar airflow room.

Moreover, the image has been tilted to project that the mother is lying down, which is not the case. Burt Glinn’s original photograph is vertical and the mother is standing in it. She can be seen with her hands and face inserted into the laminar airflow box.

Burt Glinn’s original photograph | www.pro.magnumphotos.com

In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer