Fact Check: Is China planning to kill 20,000 coronavirus patients

Beijing, Feb 09: Amidst the coronavirus scare, an unverified story has been doing the rounds on the Internet that China has asked for court approval to execute 20,000 patients to stop the further spread of the disease.

A story published by AB-TC (aka City News) claims that China has sought the approval of the Supreme People's Court to "kill over 20,000 coronavirus patients to avoid further spread of the virus".

The story reads, "The State tells the court that China is on the verge of losing its health workers to coronavirus as at least 20 health workers contract the virus daily. The State argues that coronavirus patients admitted to hospitals only have their deaths delayed and infect many others while receiving care at the hospital."

The news has a fast spread on social media, especially Twitter and Facebook.

The fact

Claiming that the report isn't "genuine", US-based fact-checking website Snopes has raised concerns about the website's legitimacy.

In fact, AB-TC news is the only one to claim that China is planning on executing coronavirus-hit patients. While the website neither carries any disclaimer nor cites a single official Chinese source.

The news report also has multiple spelling errors.