Police in Australia are investigating after two women in their 30s engaged in a violent brawl about a Facebook argument about the coronavirus.
The fight broke out on Jan. 28 after the two combatants, aged 33 and 36, met up in a Sydney suburb to hash out their online differences, police said. The pair had been engaged in a “heated discussion about health concerns” when they agreed to “discuss the matter further” in person, Northern Beaches Police Area Command said in a Facebook post.
The women soon came to blows, and two other witnesses from the group chat had to step in to separate them, police said.
An earlier post by police describes the incident in more detail. It has since been deleted, but multiple Australian news outlets have preserved screenshots and quotes from the earlier description.
“The argument quickly escalated from verbal to physical; pushing, slapping, hair pulling and finally both on the ground, briefly unconscious, all despite the efforts of bystanders trying to intervene,” police wrote in their initial Facebook post, according to 7 News in Australia.
Police said in the initial post that the argument was about “the current coronavirus and its effects.”
Paramedics and police were called to the scene and both women were taken to hospital.
The 36-year-old was treated for head and shoulder injuries, as well as a cut to her arm, according to police. The 33-year-old woman was treated for a sore shoulder and “other non-life-threatening injuries,” police said.
Both women have been released from hospital.
Authorities are still investigating the circumstances of the incident. They have not indicated why the original post was removed, nor have they indicated that any of the original details were inaccurate.
No charges have been laid.