Has a vaccine for the coronavirus been discovered? That is the claim on an image being circulated on messaging platform, WhatsApp.
But a Communications Adviser at World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Collins Boakye-Agyemang has told GhanaFact “It is not true.”
Claim: Chewing raw onions can cure coronavirus Source: Unknown Verdict: False Researched by Rabiu Alhassan A voice note that is being shared on WhatsApp claims
From being shunned by neighbours, some recovered victims are having to deal with not being able to even buy basic foodstuff in their local markets, all due to misinformers stoking fear about the virus or circulating unproven information.
That is the claim made in a news clip by UTV, a popular television broadcaster in Ghana and uploaded onto YouTube.
While the UTV news presenter mentioned that the claim was allegedly made by Moses Onyah, there was no attempt to inform the public as to whether it was true or false.
In the videos posted on Facebook, people are being encouraged to inhale steam while being fully covered under a heavy blanket (makeshift sauna) to “breakdown” the virus and “grow the antibodies” necessary to fight the coronavirus.
After seeking clarification from officials of the Ghana Health Service and the Ghana Medical Association, the claim is rated as unproven.
A video viewed more than 19,000 times on Facebook urges people to drink a concoction of ginger, garlic, lime, paracetamol and lemon-ginger tea to cure the novel coronavirus.
The video was posted on April 11 by an entertainment page, KwakyeOnline…
Ghana’s government is strongly discouraging all travel to the country until further notice, starting March 15.
This comes after the West African country confirmed four new coronavirus cases within its jurisdiction, making six, the total number of confirmed cases in the country.
“We don’t have formal evidence. It is a new virus and the hypothesis is that it came from animals and mainly bats. It was found in another wild animal but so far there is no reference to chicken. We don’t have such information even from China or any other place,” said Dr Michel Yao, Emergency Operations Programme Manager, WHO’s Regional Office for Africa in an interview with GhanaFact.
Claim: WHO lists Ghana, Nigeria and 11 others as top risk African countries for coronavirus
Source: www.pulse.com.gh, www.punchng.com, www.ghanaweb.com
Verdict: False
Gambia’s independent, non-partisan fact-checking project working to curb the spread of misinformation and propaganda.
