The message of a Corona infected dying mother hugging her baby is false.

April 22, 2020 Shreya Kachroo

Spread the truth:

An image has been floating around on social media of a woman claimed as wrapped in transparent wax, hugging a baby to her chest which she requested to doctors as she was in last stage of Coronavirus sickness

Following text is viral with the image:
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 डाक्टरों ने उसकी पूरी बॉडी को पारदर्शि मोम से कवर करके बच्चे को उसकी छाती पर लेटा दिया बच्चा तुरंत चुप हो गया और उसकी मां इस दुनिया से अलविदा हो गई ……😢😢😢😢😢मां की ममता महान हैं
#कोरोनाकोहल्केमेंना_लें,,,
सावधान रहे,सतर्क रहे,घर में रहें, सुरक्षित रहें।

Translation:
“An extremely heart wrenching incident

A woman in Italy, suffering from the third and final stage of coronavirus saw her 18 month old baby crying and expressed to the doctors her desire to hold her baby for one last time. The doctos covered her entire body in transparent wax, after which the baby was laid down on her chest. The child immediately stopped crying and the woman died. A mother’s love is truly great.

Stay alert, stay aware, Stay at home, stay safe”

Facebook

A Facebook user named Vipul Singh Chauhan shared this post that has received over 1000 reactions and more than 300 shares.

Twitter

The image has been going around Twitter too.

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 डाक्टरों ने उसकी पूरी बॉडी को पारदर्शि मोम से कवर करके बच्चे को दिया pic.twitter.com/Inzvl7O0DX

— 🌺🌹Mani Kant Suman🌹🌺 (@ManiKantSuman7) April 21, 2020

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 डाक्टरों ने उसकी पूरी बॉडी को पारदर्शि मोम से कवर करके बच्चे को pic.twitter.com/bT74i42lMB

— हिंदी न्यूज़ वायर (HindiNewsWire) (@HindiNewsWire) April 21, 2020

The image is being circulated on Whatsapp too with the same sentimental caption.

Truth

The image is a 35-year-old photo, it was taken in 1985. It was clicked by photographer Burt Glinn at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle and has nothing to do with coronavirus or Italy.

Glinn was an American photographer who worked with Magnum Photos. This viral image is actually of an infant who has been irradiated inside a Laminar Air Flow Room prior to a bone marrow transplant. It is still available on their website.

The image that has been circulating is distorted horizontally to make it look like the women is laying down and the infant is on her chest, when in reality the image had been clicked vertically with the infant’s mother hugging her baby through the protective transparent sheet with special gloves for her hands. This is known as a Laminar Air Flow Room and is used to prevent infections in patients.

As per the caption, the women is covered in transparent wax, but if we compare this image to other images clicked of a Laminar Air Flow Room, it is clear that the plastic around the woman is actually the protective curtain with a place for face and hands. There is no wax involved in any shape and form.