List of false and unproven coronavirus “facts” from Dr. Negrin Hospital

An audio clip is circulating social media that claims to offer advice originating from “Dr. Negrin hospital” concerning preventing the coronavirus.

MIXTURE

The information offered in the message is essentially a regurgitation of previous misleading or inaccurate advice concerning the virus outbreak that has now taken on several different forms.

A written version of the same information is also circulating social media and can be read below –

Doctors are reporting they now understand the behavior of the COVID 19 virus due to autopsies that they have carried out. This virus is characterized by obstructing respiratory pathways with thick mucus that solidifies and blocks the airways and lungs. So they have discovered that in order to apply a medicine you have to open and unblock these airways so that the treatment can be used to take effect however all of this takes a number of days. Their recommendations for what you can do to safeguard yourself are …

⭐️Drink lots of hot liquids – coffees, soups, teas, warm water. In addition take a sip of warm water every 20 minutes bc this keeps your mouth moist and washes any of the virus that’s entered your mouth into your stomach where your gastric juices will neutralize it before it can get to the lungs.
⭐️Gargle with an antiseptic and warm water like vinegar or salt or lemon every day if possible
⭐️The virus attaches itself to hair and clothes. And detergent or soap kills it but you must take bath or shower when you get in from the street. Avoid sitting down in your home and go straight to the shower. If you cannot wash your clothes daily, hang them in sunlight which also helps to neutralize the virus
⭐️Wash metallic surfaces very carefully bc the virus can stay viable on these for up to 9 days. Take note and be vigilant about touching hand rails, door knobs, etc. and keep these clean in home home
⭐️Don’t smoke
⭐️Wash your hands every 20 minutes with any soap that foams and do this for 20 seconds
⭐️Eat fruits and vegetables. Try to elevate your zinc levelS
⭐️Animals do not spread the virus to people. Its a person to person transmission.
⭐️Try to avoid getting the common flu as this already weakens your system and try to avoid eating and drinking any cold things.
⭐️If you feel any discomfort in your throat or a sore throat coming on, attack it immediately using the above methods. The virus enters the system through the throat but will sit in the throat for 3-4 days before it passes into your lungs.

In addition …Experts suggest doing this simple verification every morning: Breathe in deeply and hold your breath for 10 seconds. If this can be done without coughing, without difficulty, this shows that there is no fibrosis in the lungs, indicating the absence of infection. It is recommended to do this control every morning to help detect infection.

The message appears to be referring to the Doctor Negrin University Hospital in Gran Canaria, Spain, though in typical “chain mail” style, it refers to a friend of a colleague of an unknown author who allegedly works at the hospital.

There are several “facts” or “tips” offered in the four minute audio clip, and as previously mentioned, many have been debunked already on this site. Ultimately the message is a mixture of true information, unverified information and false information. Since it unfairly amplifies unproven or false information and completely omits valid and pertinent information (such as social distancing) we don’t recommend circulating it.

We briefly outline many of the “prevention techniques” mentioned in the message and their validity according to current information available from leading entities at the time.

Drink lots of hot liquids

FALSE: The message recommends drinking hot liquids such as hot soups, teas and coffee.

There is no indication that drinking hot liquids will prevent a person being infected with coronavirus. No reputable entities are recommending this technique. Upon infection, a person is often exposed to thousands, even millions of virus particles. It is unlikely that simply drinking liquids – hot or cold – would wash all of these particles (which are often not even confined to the mouth or throat) away into the stomach. COVID-19 can infect the nasal area, lungs and chest. This claim is not based on any science or medical studies.

Sipping warm water every 20 minutes

FALSE: Again, this claim about drinking water regularly is without substance. We have previously debunked this claim here.

Gargling with anti-septic

UNPROVEN: There is currently no evidence that gargling with anti-septics like salt, vinegar or lemon has any significant effect on preventing catching the coronavirus. We have dismissed this claim previously here.

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Washing clothes daily

TRUE: It is true that the coronavirus can survive for potentially many days on various surfaces, so cleaning items that you come into contact regularly is generally recommended, and this includes clothing.

However the claim that all detergents can kill the coronavirus is unverified at the time of writing.

Wash metallic surfaces regularly

TRUE: Again, since the coronavirus can survive on surfaces, it is recommended to regularly wash surfaces – including metallic surfaces – regularly with disinfectant.

Don’t smoke

MISLEADING: While smoking doesn’t put you more at risk of catching coronavirus, since smoking has a detrimental effect on the lungs, it could potentially worsen the effects of the virus and subsequent disease. This is especially true when it comes to potential symptoms of COVID-19, such as pneumonia.

Wash your hands every 20 minutes

OVERLY SIMPLISTIC: Washing your hands regularly is one of the primary pieces of advice offered by leading entities. Of course, every 20 minutes may be overly simplistic and unrealistic in many situations, but people should wash their hands multiple times a day, especially if they come into contact with surfaces such as doors, hand rails or playground equipment.

Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, and zinc

MISLEADING: Of course a healthy diet is recommended, not only during the coronavirus outbreak, but generally. And such a diet will contain plenty of fruit and vegetables. But offering this as a preventative technique to avoid catching coronavirus is misleading. Anyone can catch the coronavirus, regardless of their health.

Additionally, unless your diet is exceptionally unhealthy as to cause underlying health conditions, eating fruit and vegetables or keeping your “zinc levels” high isn’t shown to have a significant effect on what happens if you do catch coronavirus.

Animals do not spread the virus to people

TRUE: There is currently no evidence that animals, including pets, can spread the coronavirus to people. It is spread primarily through person to person, and person to surface to person.

It is possible that the coronavirus may have originally spread from bats to people, though the exact source is currently unknown at the time of writing.

Avoid getting the common flu

TRUE: It is possible that someone could potentially get flu and coronavirus at the same time, and as such it would make sense that people try and avoid contracting the flu, using essentially the same common sense techniques they would do avoid the coronavirus.

Avoid eating and drinking cold things

FALSE: There is no evidence that drinking or eating cold things will have any effect on your chances of catching coronavirus.

“Attack” a sore throat straight away

MOSTLY FALSE: The claim that the virus enters through the throat isn’t necessary true, since it can also enter through the nose and eyes. A sore throat is not necessarily a symptom of coronavirus, and can also be symptomatic of other inflictions.

Since this claim contains a number of false or unproven statements, we don’t recommend circulating it.