Coronavirus outbreak: Indians confuse pathogen with beer brand, search for 'Corona beer virus'

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The outbreak of coronavirus in China has made headlines across the globe as it continues to claim lives. India's Ministry of Health has stated  that a few cases are under observation, raising fears that the virus might have entered the country too.

An increasing number of Indians have taken to Google to find out more about the symptoms, causes, etc of the virus. Only, instead of looking up the name of the virus, a huge number of anxious citizens have been searching for the 'Corona beer virus'.

As Google trends in India suggests, people have mistakenly assumed that the virus has something to do with the alcoholic beverage brand ‘Corona’.

As per Google search results, there was a huge spike in the number of people searching for 'Corona beer virus' instead of 'coronavirus' in India. In fact citizens of Australia, Canada, and America have also been searching the internet to know more about a ‘corona beer virus’.

More than a dozen suspected cases of Coronavirus infection have already been reported in India, with the latest being a girl who returned to Patna from China. Though the World Health Organization (WHO) is yet to declare it as a global health emergency, India has already heightened its vigil across its borders.

So far, no positive case of the infection has been detected in India as per the Union Health Ministry. Around 80 people are reported to have died from the virus in China.