The “friend’s uncle” list of coronavirus “facts” – Fact Check

A series of “facts” about the 2019 coronavirus strain are spreading across social media that – according to the message – were released by a “friend’s uncle” who worked at Shenzhen Hospital.

MIXTURE

In typical “copy and paste” chain message style, the information originated from its own equivalent to a “friend of a friend”. While some of the claims are accurate, many are unproven, misleading or false.

An example of the message as it appears on social media can be seen below.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT – CORONAVIRUS
Last evening dining out with friends, one of their uncles, who’s graduated with a master’s degree and who worked in Shenzhen Hospital (Guangdong Province, China) sent him the following notes on Coronavirus for guidance:
1. If you have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold
2. Coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose.
3. This new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of just 26/27 degrees. It hates the Sun.
4. If someone sneezes with it, it takes about 10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne.
5. If it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours – so if you come into contact with any metal surface – wash your hands as soon as you can with a bacterial soap.
6. On fabric it can survive for 6-12 hours. normal laundry detergent will kill it.
7. Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice.
8. Wash your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 minutes, but – a lot can happen during that time – you can rub your eyes, pick your nose unwittingly and so on.
9. You should also gargle as a prevention. A simple solution of salt in warm water will suffice.
10. Can’t emphasise enough – drink plenty of water!
THE SYMPTOMS
1. It will first infect the throat, so you’ll have a sore throat lasting 3/4 days
2. The virus then blends into a nasal fluid that enters the trachea and then the lungs, causing pneumonia. This takes about 5/6 days further.
3. With the pneumonia comes high fever and difficulty in breathing.
4. The nasal congestion is not like the normal kind. You feel like you’re drowning. It’s imperative you then seek immediate attention.
SPREAD THE WORD – PLEASE SHARE.

We evaluate each claim below.
 
If you have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold

Of course if you do have a runny nose, you are far more likely to have something like the common cold than coronavirus, and it is true that a runny nose isn’t one of the most popular symptoms of the 2019 coronavirus strain. However, coronavirus and the resulting COVID-19 disease can cause a wide variety of symptoms depending on the individual, and this can include a runny nose.

The CDC list a runny nose as one of the potential symptoms more likely found in children (based on early reports.) Early studies also suggest that while not a prolific symptom, a runny nose can still be a symptom of the 2019 coronavirus strain.

Coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose.

Again, a runny nose, while not a popular symptom and by itself more indicative of something like a common cold, can still be a symptom of the 2019 coronavirus strain, according to health websites.

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This new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of just 26/27 degrees. It hates the Sun.

At the time of writing, experts are unsure whether warmer weather will decrease the spread of the 2019 coronavirus strain, as is common with similar inflictions such as influenza. The “26/27 degrees” barometer seems inaccurate since the average human body temperature is between 36.5-37.5 degrees Celsius. We can find no reputable health entity claiming that 26/27 degrees will kill coronavirus.

If someone sneezes with it, it takes about 10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne

Studies show that how far sneeze particles and germs can travel vary wildly, depending on the person and the immediate environment.

If it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours – so if you come into contact with any metal surface – wash your hands as soon as you can with a bacterial soap.

At this stage, estimates vary on how long the new coronavirus strain can remain active on surfaces, including metal surfaces, and factors like the immediate environment and temperature can play substantial roles. If this coronavirus strain is similar to past strains, it could potentially stay on some surfaces for many days.

The CDC notes that the this strain is popularly transmitted person-to-person, and not by surface-to-person.

It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

Washing your hands regularly is good advice and is recommended by health entities.

On fabric it can survive for 6-12 hours. normal laundry detergent will kill it.

Laundry detergent may kill the new coronavirus strain, but this will depend on many factors including the detergent used and temperature of the cycle. At this stage, it is too early to say how effective different detergents are at killing the 2019 coronavirus strain.

Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice

It is important to keep hydrated as a matter of course for general good health. However, claims that drinking water will help protect against specifically coronavirus are baseless. And the same applies to warm water as well. Agencies like the CDC and NHS do not mention drinking [warm] water as a way of preventing the coronavirus.

As for drinking with ice, it is recommended not to drink ice or tap water in countries with poor hygiene standards, though this advice is not specific to the 2019 coronavirus strain.

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Wash your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 minutes, but – a lot can happen during that time – you can rub your eyes, pick your nose unwittingly and so on.

It is true that washing your hands regularly is a good way to prevent infection from coronavirus and many other bacterial or virus infections.

The CDC recommends regularly washing your hands with soapy water as an effective prevention technique.

You should also gargle as a prevention. A simple solution of salt in warm water will suffice.

There is no evidence to suggest that gargling warm, salty water will help prevent against coronavirus and no health entities we have seen are recommending this action.

 
Can’t emphasise enough – drink plenty of water!

Again, keeping hydrated is a generally sound piece of health advice. But there is no known correlation between drinking water and preventing coronavirus.

THE SYMPTOMS
1. It will first infect the throat, so you’ll have a sore throat lasting 3/4 days
2. The virus then blends into a nasal fluid that enters the trachea and then the lungs, causing pneumonia. This takes about 5/6 days further.
3. With the pneumonia comes high fever and difficulty in breathing.
4. The nasal congestion is not like the normal kind. You feel like you’re drowning. It’s imperative you then seek immediate attention.

The specific symptoms of coronavirus and the prevalence and duration of each symptom will vary depending on the individual. For example, some people may not know they were infected with coronavirus and will not develop any respiratory problems, including the symptoms outlined above. The above “timeline” does present one possible scenario, and of course if you do show symptoms of coronavirus (the three most popular include coughing, high temperature and shortness of breath) then you should seek medical advice as soon as possible.

As for this list of facts, we don’t recommend circulating it. There is plenty of advice available from a host of reputable entities that can update their webpages with the most current information that we don’t really need to utlize copy and paste messages across social media.