Coronavirus: Did you know about these predictions?

The novel coronavirus pandemic has gripped the world with a deadly disease spreading like wildfire, affecting thousands of people. In India, the number of positive cases has crossed the 100 mark and the death toll has touched three people. In a scenario where panic is as contagious as the virus, rumours take no time to become viral. Some stories of uncanny predictions are also doing the rounds. Here's a list:

A book from 1981

The Eyes of Darkness, a novel written by Dean Koontz and published in 1981, allegedly predicted the outbreak of a coronavirus. There is a passage in the book that alludes to the creation of a deadly virus known as Wuhan-400, which is named after the place where it originated. Netizens are going gaga over the strange similarity and many are saying that the author was one person who foresaw the occurrence of COVID-19.

A prediction in The Simpsons

More often than not, The Simpsons is credited with predicting that Donald Trump would become the President of United States. "The Simpsons predicted it” is a common phrase on the internet. A 1993 episode of the animated sitcom titled Marge in Chains dealt with the outbreak of a mysterious virus that originated in the Far East. The episode focuses on an illness called 'Osaka flu' that spreads through Springfield after residents order juicers from Japan.

Nostradamus predicted this?

Nostradamus, the 16th-century French astrologer, physician and reputed seer is famous for his predictions. From the end of the world to natural calamities, his predictions are dynamic and mind-boggling. And according to one Twitter user, Nostradamus also predicted the coronavirus. The authenticity of the user's claim is debatable.

'The war of Armageddon'

Jeane Dixon was an American psychic who reportedly predicted the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. Dixon also predicted that the world would end in 2020 when a 'war of Armageddon' would wipe out the planet. According to netizens, the Armageddon that she was referring to was the coronavirus.

End of Days

Pictures of a page from a book titled End of Days, written by late Sylvia Brown, has gone viral on social media. Certain lines in the book make it seem like the author had predicted that a coronavirus-like epidemic would attack the world in 2020. Here's an excerpt: "In around 2020 a severe pneumonia-like illness will spread throughout the globe, attacking the lungs and the bronchial tubes and resisting all known treatments. Almost more baffling than the illness itself will be the fact that it will suddenly vanish as quickly as it arrived, attack again ten years later, and then disappear completely."

All of these predictions may just be shots in the dark. For now, people need to keep themselves safe by following the guidelines shared by governments, medical experts and the World Health Organization.