A man has been arrested and charged with pretending to have coronavirus after claiming he tested positive on Facebook.
Michael Lane Brandin turned himself into Tyler County Police after his post was reported multiple times to officers and and they launched an investigation.
The 23-year-old told police he had lied that he had the killer bug as part of a “social experiment” to show you should not believe everything you read online.
He was charged with false alarm and report and a bond of $1,000 (£870) was set.
According to KJAS-TV, District Attorney Lucas Babin said that Brandin’s actions could have caused mass panic and clog up phonelines at Woodville’s Tyler County hospital.
The station also said Mr Babin believes Brandin did it to shock people and draw attention to himself.
The news comes after President Donald Trump unveiled plans to turn ships moored off the US coast into makeshift hospitals to tackle covid-19 which has killed 150 people across the US.
The President said on Wednesday that there had been developments in the US’ “war” against the “Chinese virus”.
The term has sparked a backlash, with some accusing Trump of racism, although the coronavirus did originate in Chinese city Wuhan before Christmas.
The US has told Americans to avoid groups of more than 10 people and the elderly to stay home.
Trump likened the effort to the measures taken during World War Two and said it would require national “sacrifice”.
“It’s a war,” he said. “I view it as a, in a sense, a wartime president. It’s a very tough situation.”
Trump also elaborated on plans to send cash to every American to help them through the crisis, with the amount possibly $1,000 or more.
The new measures come as the number of US cases jumped to nearly 6,000 across all 50 states and as Americans enter the third day of a 15-day critical period meant to “flatten the curve” of the virus spread.
