A viral chain letter on social media contains several tips against SARS-CoV-2, which allegedly come from a doctor or other people in Wuhan.

The beginning of the chain letters varies, and some of the wording is different, but one thing remains the same: the tips supposedly come from a doctor in Wuhan who wrote an article about the new coronavirus.

This is how the chain letters begin:

“I send text without editing and editing. But everything is clear. And it can be useful. Information from a person who graduated from a magistrate and works in a hospital in Shenzhen. He moved to study the pneumonia virus in Wuhan"

or

“An Italian doctor who worked at the Shenzhen Hospital in China has been appointed by the Chinese government as a member of the Wuhan Pneumonia Virus Study Team, or Corona Virus.
He wrote a very interesting article, the summary of which is given below"

or

“My classmate's uncle and niece have master's degrees and work at Shenzhen Hospital. He is taken to Wuhan to study the pneumonia virus. He called me and asked me to tell my friends"

There are even more variations, for example it is also said to be information that the government of Canada releases to its citizens. The only thing they all have in common is that they should make the information look authentic.

We have the full chain letters in a separate article . Below we would like to discuss the individual tips in the chain letter.

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Fact check: The tips in the chain letter

The runny nose

“If you have a runny nose and sputum with a cold, it cannot be a new type of coronavirus pneumonia because coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough without a runny nose.”

If you have a runny nose, you most likely have a cold. However, this does not mean that you cannot be infected with SARS-CoV-2! be a symptom , especially in children. Some studies have also found that the symptoms of flu, including a runny nose, can be a sign of a COVID-19 illness, but does not necessarily have to be.

The claim is therefore false : a runny nose does not mean that you cannot be infected with SARS-CoV-2!

Hot water

“This time, the Wuhan virus is not heat-resistant and is killed at a temperature of 26 to 27 degrees. Therefore, drink more hot water. You can tell your friends and family to drink more hot water to prevent this. Go under the sun.”

It is still entirely unclear whether warmer weather could curb the spread of the new coronavirus. However, the hot water tip is completely outrageous!

The human body already has an average body temperature of around 37 degrees, so it should die as soon as it is inside the body for a few minutes. Drinking hot water doesn't help; it just cools down the inside of your stomach if it's colder than 37 degrees.

The claim is therefore false : your own body temperature is already around 37 degrees!

The size and the sneezing

“It is quite large (the cell diameter is about 400-500 nm), so any ordinary mask (not just the N95 one) should be able to filter it. However, if someone who is infected sneezes in front of you, it goes 3 meters (about 10 feet) before it falls to the ground and stops flying.”

The most misinformation circulating is about protective masks. Conventional protective masks do not really protect against SARS-CoV-2 (as is wrongly thought), but only to a certain extent prevent you from infecting others if you are already sick yourself.

Quite apart from the fact that the cell diameter is 50-200 nm (not 400-500 nm, as claimed above), the claim creates a false sense of security and thus possibly leads to leniency (after all, you are now protected) and endangers yourself and other people even more.

Misinformation is also being spread when it comes to sneezing, because depending on the person, the strength of the sneeze and the humidity, viruses can fly 1.5 meters to 60 meters

The claims are false : Ordinary masks do not protect, the virus is smaller than claimed, viruses can spread much further through sneezing than claimed!

metal and fabric

“If the virus falls on the surface of the metal, it survives for at least 12 hours. (…) The virus can remain active on the tissue for 6-12 hours. Conventional laundry detergent should kill the virus. For winter clothes that don’t need to be washed daily, you can put them in the sun to kill the virus.”

There are still no definitive studies on how long SARS-CoV-2 survives on surfaces. However, HCoV (Human Coronavirus) and SARS can be used as a first comparison, as the new coronavirus is likely to behave similarly.

According to the latest research, surfaces that are smooth and not too porous allow the virus to survive longer. HCoV survives on aluminum for 2-8 hours at room temperature; on metal and steel, SARS and HCoV even survive for up to 5 days at room temperature.

according to Rachel Graham , an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina, viruses cannot survive on porous surfaces - banknotes, hair, fabrics - for very long; they "get caught" in the tiny spaces and are difficult to transmit.

In general, you should stick to the rule of thumb: wash your hands regularly and thoroughly after touching things that have previously been touched by many other people.

The claim is misleading : Depending on the temperature and surface, viruses can last much longer on surfaces, but only poorly on other surfaces. There are no specific studies on SARS-CoV-2 yet.

The list of symptoms

"1. First it infects the throat, then the throat has a feeling of dry sore throat that lasts 3-4 days

2. Then the virus merges with the nasal fluid, drips into the trachea and enters the lungs, causing pneumonia. This process takes 5 to 6 days.

3. Pneumonia causes high fever and shortness of breath. A stuffy nose is not like a normal stuffy nose. You will feel like you are drowning in the water. It is important to seek medical attention immediately if you have this feeling.”

The list above only describes one possible scenario of a COVID-19 illness!
The specific symptoms in individuals, the duration and the prevalence vary greatly from person to person. Many infected people show none of the symptoms, other infected people only show very mild symptoms, and others show very severe, acute symptoms.

According to the Natural Healthcare System (NHS), the most common symptoms are cough , high fever and shortness of breath . The symptoms do not necessarily indicate COVID-19; they also occur with a common cold and flu, but they can be a warning signal.

The claim is misleading : they only describe one possible scenario, but you can also have COVID-19 without having those symptoms!

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Conclusion

Only the final tips of the chain letter are correct: wash your hands often. Otherwise, the chain letter only consists of false and misleading information.


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