The American edition Mashable has revealed popular myths about the coronavirus that are spreading on the Internet. In particular, the journalists sorted out erroneous theories about the emergence of 2019-nCoV and how to treat it, which are being discussed on the Internet.
It is noted that the most popular theory on the network is a conspiracy theory that the virus was created by Chinese scientists and was mistakenly outside the laboratory, after which an epidemic broke out. Users justify this statement by the fact that in the city of Wuhan, where the first infections of 2019-nCoV were recorded, there is a laboratory working with infections and leading the development of such viruses.
Another popular assumption is that the virus is associated with Microsoft's creator Bill Gates. A user, whose post has received over a thousand retweets, claims that the coronavirus is patented by the Pirbright Institute, which is partially funded by the Gates Foundation.
Another theory is related to the QAnon movement - the American Internet community, supporting US President Donald Trump and against the "deep state" (deep state). This is what they call a group of senior American officials, mostly from the Democratic Party. Some advocates of the movement are proposing a cure for the coronavirus with the Miracle Mineral Solution. According to The Daily Beast, the liquid is actually similar in composition to bleach and should never be taken.
The American non-profit organization Karmagawa has been convicted of spreading the theory that the virus was spread by Chinese eating habits, namely by eating bats and other wild animals. According to NBC News, it was the posts on this topic that became the most popular on the organization's Instagram account.
Previously, Chinese blogger Wang Mengyun complained of death threats after posting a video of her eating bat soup. Many viewers thought the video was filmed in Wuhan, but the video was actually filmed back in 2016 in Palau, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean.
According to the latest data, 9.8 thousand people around the world are infected with the coronavirus, of which the majority in China - more than 9.6 thousand cases. 213 people died, and 187 were cured of the infection.
Coronavirus 2019-nCoV was first registered in the Chinese city of Wuhan. On January 22, Wuhan was closed, and later, neighboring cities were also closed. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized the 2019-nCoV outbreak as an emergency of international concern. Several cases have been reported in the United States, Canada and France, as well as in Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
Promotional video:
It became known about those infected with coronavirus in Russia on January 31. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, who heads the operational headquarters for the fight against the virus, said that the patients are in Transbaikalia and the Tyumen region. Their condition is stable, without clinical manifestations and temperature.