No, the City of Calgary is not using helicopters to spray the streets with disinfectant

The City of Calgary is not spraying disinfectant from helicopters to slow the spread of COVID-19.

"We've heard rumours about how we are disinfecting the city. We are not spraying throughout the night or using helicopters to disinfect areas. You can help prevent the spread of coronavirus by washing your hands and most importantly maintaining a twometer physical distance," the city wrote on Twitter on Tuesday evening.

It's not clear where the hoax originated, but CBC News was sent a copy of a text message that appeared to spread the disinformation.

The message warns Calgarians to stay indoors after 11:40 p.m. and shut their doors and windows. It was not immediately clear where the message originated as the person who received the message said it was forwarded to them by a friend, and that friend said it was passed along by another friend.

While misting disinfectantby drone has been used to respond to the novel coronavirus in South Korea, it's not yet a measure that has been taken in any Canadian city and it's unclear how effective the tactic actually is.

The City of Calgary is under a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and has a list of measures it's taking to respond on its website, like ramping up cleaning and closing some facilities.

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As the novel coronavirus has spread around the world, so has misinformation.

In recent weeks, a Calgary talk radio host and a naturopathy clinic have been criticized for sharing false information stating there is a cure for the virus.

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