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People easily become anxious and fearful due to false and misleading information circulating on social media platforms regarding various diseases and viral conditions. Accordingly, as information was being exchanged these days that a new Covid virus condition was spreading, we conducted an investigation regarding it.
Social Media posts:
A message was shared among many people on WhatsApp, informing people about the spread of a new Covid virus condition, its symptoms, and the prevention methods to protect themselves from it.
It further states that people should be cautious about this situation, and inform others about this message. A Facebook link was also included in that message, stating that this message was from the Pulmonologist, Dr. Ritesh Kumar and it is a not left by the doctor, but no such note can be seen on that link now.
This is how this message was shared through Facebook.
Accordingly, we conducted an investigation to check whether such a situation exists in Sri Lanka.
Fact Check :
We first checked to see if there was a Covid- 19 situation in Sri Lanka and whether the country’s health departments had issued any information regarding it, but we could not see any such official announcement.
Even media outlets haven’t released any information regarding the spread of Covid- 19 in Sri Lanka these days.
Accordingly, Dr. Ranjith Batuwanthudawa of the Ministry of Health was contacted to further confirm whether such a new Covid virus is spreading in Sri Lanka these days.
Dr. Ranjith Batuwanthudawa
Director of the Health Promotion Bureau, Dr. Ranjith Batuwanthudawa, stated that the latest variety of Covid- 19 that spread was not the most severe, and that the situation was brought under control becuase countries around the world largely focused on vaccination.
The doctor also stated that a non severe variant of the Covid virus is currently being spread from time to time in certain countries such as China and Singapore, but that there isn’t such a situation in Sri Lanka.
However, due to the rainy weather conditions these days, dengue and chikungunya are spreading in the country.
Is the current Covid variant in some countries of the world are risky?
A new wave of COVID-19 is spreading through parts of Southeast Asia, including Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and Thailand, and those countries are reporting a significant increase in infections.
The relevant health departments say that the subtypes seen in these countries are descended from the JN.1 Covid variant.
In particular, the number of cases in Singapore has increased by 28% in the past year, with 14,200 cases reported as of May 3.
However, foreign media report that for generally healthy, vaccinated people without high-risk health conditions, the current Covid- 19 variant is similar to a seasonal flu outbreak and is not a severe situation.
However, these news reports indicate that there is some impact on those with compromised immune systems and those with underlying health conditions, as well as the elderly.
You can refer more information here, here and here.
Accordingly, we investigated the reason behind the these posts being curculated in social media.
A Sinhala translation of a note that was first exchanged during the Covid pandemic, more than four years ago!
Our investigation revealed that this same message was also posted on social media in 2021. 2021 was a time when the COVID-19 situation in the country was widespread.
Our further investigation revealed that this message, which was shared in Sri Lanka in 2021 and this year, is a translation of a message exchanged in English.
Accordingly, this same message was posted on social media accounts by people in other countries in 2021.
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A comment on one of these social media posts stated that this was a copy-pasted message. Also, another comment posted a photo stating that the same message was shared in 2021, by an account name ‘Dr. Ritesh Kumar, Pulmonologist’. All of these shared messages state that this awareness was provided by Pulmonologist named Dr. Ritesh Kumar.
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Accordingly, we also investigated whether there was a lung specialist name Dr. Ritesh Kumar and we were able to find his Facebook account.
However, such a message is currently not visible in his Facebook account. Although the social media link to the original post is provided in the messages exchanged in Sri Lanka, the original post is currently not there.
Similarly, another fake news was circulated at the same time that the Kenyan Red Criss issued a similar message in 2021, and a fact check in this can be viewed here.
Current health risks in Sri Lanka
Health officials in Sri Lanka say that the ongoing rainy weather is leading to an outbreak of dengue and chikungunya. Accordingly, in the past two week of May alone, around 2355 dengue patients have been reported. The Western Province has the highest number of dengue patents, accounting for 48%.
Dr. Sudath Samaraweera, Director of the National Dengue Control Unit, stated that a special mosquito control program will be implemented from May 19th to 24th in 95 Medical Health divisions in 15 districts identified as at risk.
The doctor also pointed out that both the dengue and chikungunya diseases that are spreading these days are caused by mosquitoes, and that these mosquitoes can spread from places where even a small amount of water collects, and that such places should be cleaned.
These diseases are accompanied by high fever, severe headache, pain under the eyes, body aches, and red spots on the skin. In the case of chikungunya, especially high fever is accompanied by joint pain and swelling of the joints. Dr. Samaraweera advises that those who are elderly or have underlying health conditions should seek medical attention on the first day of fever.
The Western Provincial Health Services Director, Dr. Dhammika Jayalath, also warned that there is a high risk of dengue and chikungunya spreading with the ongoing rains, and the doctor’s statement regarding this is below.
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Conclusion :
The message which is circulating these days informing people about the spread of a new Covid- 19 variant and the need to protect themselves from it is a misleading message that was circulated in 2021 when the Covid virus was rapidly spreading throughout the world.
The message is still circulating within social media platforms of Sri Lanka, but Dr. Ranjith Batuwanthudawa states that currently a covid- 19 variant is not spreading in Sri Lanka. The country’s health authorities have also not officially announced that there is an outbreak of Covid- 19 variant.
However, health officials point out that although there is a resurgence of Covid, especially in some countries in Southeast Asia, it is not a higher-risk variant like previous Covid variants.
Thus, local health authorities state that dengue and chikungunya diseases are spreading in Sri Lanka these days due to the rainy weather.
Title:Is a high- risk Covid 19 spreading in Sri Lanka these days?
Fact Check By: Piumika LakshaniResult: False
