UP's Korauna confused for Corona; non-locals refuse to even take calls from the village

In an unprecedented case, villagers in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district are troubled lot. With a name that rhymes with the Coronavirus pandemic, residents of 'Korauna' village said that they have been facing discrimination ever since the outbreak of the highly contagious virus.

"No one is willing to come out; people are terrified in our village. When we tell people we are from Korauna, they avoid us. They don't understand that it's a village, not someone infected with the virus," said Rajan, one of the residents of the village.

Other people are so scared that they don't even want to answer telephone calls, he added.

Another local Sunil told news agency: "If we are out on roads and the police enquire where we are headed to and we tell them that we are going to Korauna, they look unsettled. What can we possibly do if our village has such a name?"

The country is under a three-week lockdown to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, which according to the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs has infected over 1000 people in India so far.

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Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh has reported a total of 68 Coronavirus cases with around half of them from Gautam Buddh Nagar district which includes Noida, officials said on Sunday. Earlier in the day, the Gautam Buddh Nagar district administration said five new cases were reported taking the total cases to 31.

Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Principal Secretary, Medical and Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said, "A total of 68 Coronavirus positive cases have been reported so far from UP of which 14 patients have been discharged so far. The condition of the patients in the state is that they do not require intensive care or be kept on ventilators. Most of the cases are mild. The condition of the rest of the patients undergoing treatment is stable."

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(With Inputs from Agencies)