In the backdrop of surging COVID-19 cases in the country, a video has surfaced on social media platforms suggesting that ‘seven exercises’ provide lifetime protection against the novel coronavirus.

The video was shared on Facebook with a caption in Hindi that roughly translates to, “Some important exercise activities suggested by Dr. Manish Sharma CMHO Gwalior to prevent corona.”

In the video, Dr Manish Sharma, Chief Medical Health Officer, Gwalior, can be heard saying, “My name is Dr Manish Sharma. I am CMHO Gwalior. I request everyone to practise these seven exercises which will boost our immunity and prepare our body to fight against coronavirus. If you do so, you will never have coronavirus infection in life. These are simple exercises which can be done anywhere and anytime. Each exercise is supposed to be done for 30 seconds.”

He further goes on to demonstrate the seven different hand exercises.

Several other users on Facebook have also shared the video.

FACT CHECK

NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim and found it to be misleading.

On performing relevant keyword searches, we found that in October 2020, Madhya Pradesh Health Department had served a show-cause notice to Dr Sharma.

In the notice, it was mentioned that the information given in the video is unverified and misleading. The notice further stated that the information was not in accordance with the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the state government.

The complete notice can be seen on page 76 of the document from the website of the Directorate of Health Services, Madhya Pradesh.

As per news reports, after Dr Sharma received the show cause notice, he also shared a new video, emphasising the use of masks, social distancing and regular washing of hands to fight the virus.

Further, we did not find any such ‘seven hand exercises’ suggested by any health organization which that prevents one from getting infected with COVID-19.

We reached out to World Health Organization, who confirmed to us that ‘WHO does not have any evidence that these exercises prevent COVID-19, however, in general, regular exercise and a nutritious diet are important to keep healthy’.

According to an article published in United States’ National Center for Biotechnology Information, in May 2020, one’s immunity is an essential requisite to fight infections. Tailor-made asana practises, dedicated pranayams, meditation and mantras could provide a broad-spectrum immune build-up in the body so that viral infection could be averted and/or its virulence reduced.

Hence, the video in which Dr Manish Sharma CMHO Gwalior demonstrates seven exercises claiming that it can provide lifetime protection from getting COVID-19 infection is misleading.

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