People confuse UP's Korauna for Corona; outsiders even won't take a phone call from village

With a name that rhymes with the deadly coronavirus pandemic, villagers in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district are a troubled lot.

Residents of 'Korauna' village say that they have been facing discrimination ever since the outbreak of the highly contagious virus, which has wreaked havoc in countries across the world.

"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 said.

Another local Sunil told ANI, "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?"

Ramji Dixiti, another local said" "When we telephone people and tell them that we are calling from Korauna, they immediately cut our calls thinking someone is playing a joke on them."

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 close to 1000 people in India so far.