LOGIN DASHBOARD

    Explainers

    4 MIN READ

    COVID-19: What’s circulating on social media and what are the facts?

    Injina Panthi, March 25, 2020, Kathmandu

    COVID-19: What’s circulating on social media and what are the facts?

      Share this article

    Misinformation and false claims about the pandemic, however, continue to spread especially through the social media.

    (CDC)

    Nepal government has introduced emergency measures such as closures of schools and colleges, imposed a ban on gathering of over 25 people and arrival restrictions for passengers from Europe, the Middle East, Gulf countries, Malaysia, Turkey, South Korea and Japan to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19. Misinformation and false claims about the pandemic, however, continue to spread especially through the social media. We have examined several such claims being circulated among the users of social media in Nepal.

    Does gargling with warm water with salt or vinegar cure COVID-19?

    A meme circulating on Facebook and other social media platforms claims that gargling with warm water mixed with salt or vinegar can eliminate COVID-19. It claims that after the virus reaches the throat, it remains there for four days and causes coughing and throat pain.

    While Nepalis have traditionally used the solution as domestic remedy for throat pain and coughing, there’s no evidence that it cures the coronavirus. According to the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gargling with warmed water mixed with salt/vinegar helps soothe a sore throat, but there’s no proof that it eliminates coronavirus.

    This meme circulating on social media in Nepal claims that drinking plenty of water, or gargling with warm water mixed with salt or vinegar removes the coronavirus from the throat.

    Does rinsing your nose with saline water help prevent COVID-19?

    It’s a misleading claim. It’s true that it can help people recover from common cold, but it’s not a cure for the coronavirus. Debunking the myth, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said: “There is no evidence that regularly rinsing the nose with saline has protected people from infection with the new coronavirus.”

    Can COVID-19 coronavirus survive on the surface of iron for 12 hours?                            

    A YouTube channel called Official Khabar posted a video claiming that coronavirus can survive for 12 hours on the surface of iron. Though other tips the video has offered appeared to be accurate, this one is misleading.

    According to a research paper authored by scientists from the National Institute of Health and published in New England Journal of Medicine, the virus could be detected in aerosols and on surfaces ranging from a few hours to several days.  “We found that viable virus could be detected in aerosols up to 3 hours post aerosolization, up to 4 hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to 2-3 days on plastic and stainless steel,” the report said.

    Will warm temperature help reduce the spread of the coronavirus?

    With the end of winter, the temperature is rising across Nepal. Claims that the rise of temperature above 30 degrees Celsius would help reduce the virus are being circulated on social media.

    But this claim is unsubstantiated. “Because the impact of influenza reduces with the onset of summer, many people seem to believe that it will help reduce the novel coronavirus from spreading during summer. As its name suggests, this is a new virus and we don’t have any evidence to support such conclusion,” Pushpa Mani Kharal, a medical doctor, told South Asia Check.

    What latest researches say about COVID-19?

    Latest scientific researches on coronavirus have pointed that one third of the infections of the disease were spread by people who did not demonstrate any symptoms. One research says that people infected with the disease may not show symptoms in the initial state. That’s why experts have recommended social distancing and maintaining a distance of six feet from other people.

    :::::::::

    This article was originally published in South Asia Check - an independent, non-partisan, non-profit initiative by Panos South Asia, aiming to promote accuracy and accountability in public debate.



    author bio photo

    Injina Panthi  No bio.



    Comments

    Get the best of

    the Record

    Previous Next

    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

    Perspectives

    7 min read

    Nepal’s underground economy

    Hari Prasad Shrestha - April 23, 2020

    A shadow economy has been flourishing amid unchecked corruption, money laundering and rampant impunity

    Features

    5 min read

    Reconciliation reached among NCP’s leaders

    Bhadra Sharma - September 11, 2020

    The ruling party’s top leaders have finally come to a truce, but the peace probably won’t last

    Opinions

    7 min read

    A looming crisis in farming

    Jagannath Adhikari - September 23, 2020

    Dependence on imported chemical fertilisers has made Nepal’s farmers vulnerable on more than one front

    Features

    4 min read

    An increasingly intolerant government targets journalists

    The Record - May 22, 2020

    The pandemic has provided authorities with an excuse to curb journalistic expression

    Features

    4 min read

    Is the coronavirus showing us that federalism has worked?

    The Record - April 20, 2020

    Where the federal government has failed, local governments have stepped in

    Features

    Photo Essays

    6 min read

    Valley slums face torrential problems

    Aishwarya Baidar - July 9, 2021

    Abandoned by the government and harassed by the monsoon rains, slum dwellers lack shelter when they need it most.

    Photo Essays

    4 min read

    A city of disquiet

    The Record - March 31, 2020

    Kathmandu, our eternally bustling capital, has been lulled into sleep by the forbidding coronavirus

    News

    5 min read

    Scrub typhus, with its similarities to Covid-19, is leading to confusion — and deaths

    Aishwarya Baidar - September 27, 2021

    Delays in seeking treatment due to the similarity of scrub typhus’ symptoms with Covid-19 are fast becoming fatal.

    • About
    • Contributors
    • Jobs
    • Contact

    CONNECT WITH US

    © Copyright the Record | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy