A video spread on the Internet shows people wearing protection suits getting out of a vehicle parked in a downtown location.

Shanghai police say that stories of a COVID-19 infection case in a downtown residential complex are a rumor.

It began spreading online on Sunday due to a video showing people in protective gear getting out of a vehicle parked near the intersection of Huaihai Road and Yandang Road in Huangpu District.

In fact, the people in the video were responding to the sudden death of a senior citizen, say police. The elderly man had been found dead at his home, and his death was not related to the coronavirus epidemic, according to authorities.

Police have also ruled out murder.

Health workers disinfected in and around the man's home, say police. They also did a thorough inspection and found no signs of the virus.

A 66-year-old woman surnamed Zhang was found to have fabricated the rumor and has been fined 200 yuan (US$30), police said.