Fear Over Opening New Graveyard (Zambia) – Infected Saliva Injected into Food (India)

http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/myth-delays-mpika-graveyard-opening/

Daily Mail [Zambia]

10 April 2020

Myth delays Mpika graveyard opening

A MYTH stating that an individual who officially opens a graveyard will be the first to be buried in it has driven fear into the hearts of Mpika town council officials, especially after the current graveyard has been declared full. The town council officials are all refusing to declare the new space identified as an official graveyard, fearing that they will drop dead and be buried there. Mpika Central Member of Parliament Sylvia Chalikosa learnt this from District Commissioner Moses Katebe when she called on him at his office…. [rest behind paywall]

[Secretly use an animal for the first burial: problem solved.]

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https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2020/apr/10/muslim-man-in-bawana-beaten-up-on-suspicion-of-spreading-coronavirus-2128220.html

New Indian Express

10 April 2020

Muslim man in Bawana beaten up on suspicion of spreading coronavirus

NEW DELHI: A 22-year-old Muslim man was allegedly thrashed by a group of men in Bawana area on suspicion of spreading coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among the people in the village, said the police. […] “He is admitted to the hospital. So far, he hasn’t developed any coronavirus symptoms,” said a senior police official. “There was a rumour that he and some others were planning to inject saliva in fruits and vegetables and sell them to people infect them,” said a source. […]

Stocker Mistaken for Hoarder – Dancing = Seizure – Newborn Gives Medical Advice (Kenya)

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/in-search-of-the-elusive-certain-times-20200326-p54e2v.html

Sydney Morning Herald [Australia]

26 March 2020

Column 8

In search of the elusive certain times

[…] Michael Payne of West Pymble relates a story about a responsible friend of his who was shopping and came across a man with a trolley loaded full of pasta and sauce. "My friend took the man to task, then the man replied, 'Can I get on with replenishing the shelves now?'" […]

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https://www.the-star.co.ke/counties/coast/2020-03-29-dying-baby-says-black-tea-cures-virus-rumour-rages-like-wildfire/

The Star [Kenya]

29 March 2020

'Dying baby says black tea cures virus ', rumour rages like wildfire

[…] At about 3am, many people were calling each other throughout the Coast region, saying black tea without sugar drunk before dawn is the cure for the coronavirus, and possibly a preventative. It is said that a child was born in the night and said these words about black tea before dying. […] Last week, there were rumours that if one opens the Koran and finds a strand of hair in the middle, it is from the beard of the prophet Muhammad.  People should dip it in a glass of water, stir and drink for immunity and a cure for Covid-19, the rumour mill said. […]

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Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, Zits, 29 March 2020 (detail). “I was dancing, not having a seizure!”

In urban legends, jerky body movements – such as shaking a foot to dislodge a pebble or reacting to an insect or animal under one’s clothes – are misinterpreted as epileptic seizures or electrocution.

“A woman came home to find her husband frantically shaking in the kitchen with what looked like a wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. She picked up a heavy piece of wood and smashed it into him to jolt him away from the current, breaking his arm in two places. Then she discovered he was listening to his Walkman and having a jig.” Fortean Times #69, June/July 1993, p. 12, paraphrasing Southport, Ormskirk and Formby Star, c. 7 Oct 1992.