Says no one has died from the coronavirus in the United States.
Nine people have died from the coronavirus in the United States
If your time is short
- Nine people have died from the coronavirus in the United States.
- The first death was reported on March 1.
An Instagram post making a political point about abortion in the United States muffs the landing by claiming that no one has died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
“Death toll in America,” the March 1 post says. “Coronavirus 0, abortion 63,000,000.”
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Though any count of abortions in the United States can’t be precise, the abortion number seems to be a reasonable estimate. (Read our 2012 fact-check for details.)
But for COVID-19, the post is simply wrong. As of March 3, there have been nine deaths from COVID-19 in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported six deaths on their website while the Seattle Times reported three more deaths that afternoon. The victims were all in Washington state.
Of course, the Instagram post was published on March 1. But the first death was reported on Feb. 29. Officials announced four more deaths on March 2.
We rate this Instagram post False.
Our Sources
Instagram post, March 1, 2020
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the U.S., updated March 3, 2020
Los Angeles Times, The death toll from coronavirus in Kirkland, Wash. — and the United States — rises to six, March 2, 2020
Oregonian, Man in Washington state first in US to die from new coronavirus, Feb. 29, 2020
The Washington Post, 15 states treating coronavirus patients as virus death toll in U.S. reaches 6, officials say, March 2, 2020
The Seattle Times, Seventh Washington state resident’s death linked to coronavirus disease, March 3, 2020
The Seattle Times, Three more Washington state residents’ deaths linked to coronavirus disease, bringing total COVID-19 fatalities in the state to 9, March 3, 2020
