Coronavirus

A Houston-based doctor, Dr Stella Immanuel, in a viral video, announced wonder drugs for COVID-19

The claims that Hydroxychloroquine, Zithromax and Zinc are effective against the novel coronavirus are not accurate. At the moment, there is not yet an established cure for COVID-19.

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SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) is arguably the headline for 2020. The novel virus, which is responsible for the disease COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), has become the world’s biggest nightmare now responsible for 655,300 deaths from over 16 million infected cases recorded worldwide. The novel coronavirus, since it made its debut in China in December last year,  has set scientists working and researching for a cure and a vaccine.

Out of the blue, on Monday, July 27th, the social media space welcomed a widely circulated video, showing a group of doctors led by Doctor Stella Immanuel, where she identified herself as a primary health care physician in Houston, Texas. This video bears news of an alleged cure for the new coronavirus. Dr Stella, while speaking in the video, revealed that she had treated over 350 COVID-19 patients with Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), Zithromax and Zinc.  After emphasizing the potency of these drugs, she added that  “there is no need to wear a mask.” The video has garnered over 28 thousand views and 235 comments on Eben_rocks’ Instagram account and has featured on other social media platforms.

Before it got on Eben_rocks, the video originated from Breibart, a rabidly right-wing, pro-Trump platform, at a press conference in Washington, D.C. The event was hosted by the Tea Party Patriots on July 27th. Credible platforms have said the original video amassed millions of views and even Donald Trump retweeted it.

Given recurring, dissident, voices ranged against the mainstream medical consensus on Hydroxychloroquine since President Trump first announced its efficacy as a cure for coronavirus, Dubawa opted for additional research on the new claim by Dr. Immanuel. This is regardless of Dubawa’s previous review of a plethora of similar falsehoods regarding an imminent medicine or remedy. 

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Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ)

The buzz around hydroxychloroquine providing relief against the novel virus surfaced after a live TV endorsement of the anti-malarial by President Donald J Trump. Mr. Trump claimed he was using the drug against the virus, and while people have rushed to get the medications for treatments, studies and reports show it to be an ineffective remedy. Worse still, some research confirmed that in some cases, the drug resulted in casualties. USA Today, for instance, in its Fact Check, said it had found there is no evidence that the drug is effective against the virus.

What are Health Authorities saying?

The World Health Organization’s provision regarding many claims of finding a cure for COVID-19 has not changed. The body has said there is no cure yet for the virus, although researchers across the world are still working to develop a therapeutic or vaccine for the virus. The health organization who has initially recommended hydroxychloroquine for clinical trials has now halted further use. 

While the National Institute of Health was cited in the trending video, the agency has stopped the use of hydroxychloroquine in clinical trials. It says, “Study shows treatment does no harm but provides no benefit.”  

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also “cautioned against the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for COVID-19 outside of the hospital setting or a clinical trial due to risk of heart rhythm problems.”

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has reacted to the trending video, pleading with Nigerians to take caution against the inferences in the video. The centre designed a card to warn people against self-medication and encourages the use of masks.

Additionally, the Guild of Medical Directors has also responded to the video. It issued an urgent press release which addresses the issue. The Press release stated that “people must understand that this is not scientific evidence and just her (Dr Stella) own personal, unsubstantiated claims.”  The Guild also said, “This disease is definitely not a joke, and we strongly condemn the politicization of the disease and the treatments currently being used to fight the pandemic. As at today, the whole world is still actively looking for effective treatment and of course, a vaccine. Until then, everyone has a responsibility to remain safe and protect one another through the ways proven to help.”

Based on the positions of the various health authorities, it is clear that Dr. Stella Immanuel and her team are alone on the new claim about the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine as a cure for Covid-19. 

Who is Doctor Stella Immanuel? 

Dr. Stella Immanuel is a  medical doctor currently practicing in the United States with more than 30 years of diverse experiences, especially in EMERGENCY MEDICINE. She is also a pastor. Her Facebook profile defines her as a physician, author, speaker, entrepreneur, deliverance minister, “God’s battle axe and weapon of war.” She was one of the doctors who spoke at the conference where the video was shot and in which she was portrayed as the speaker. 

Here’s why you should disregard her claims.

According to this report, Dr. Stella has a history of publishing bizarre claims. She once claimed that gynecological problems like cysts and endometriosis are caused by people having sex in their dreams with demons and witches. Besides that, while she has publicly advised against the use of nose masks, she has been caught wearing one while preaching in her church. 

Further, she referred to a 2005 research that made her start using HCQ for her COVID patients – citing a research done under the National Institute of Health that proves HCQ’s efficacy against COVID-19.

Although she was not specific about the study, Dubawa found this research. The study identified “chloroquine” not hydroxychloroquine as an inhibitor of SARS coronavirus infection and spread. While that has been said, it is worthy of note that the disease-causing the current pandemic is not SARS but SARS-COV-2. And although SARS may have similar characteristics with SARS-COV-2, it is new and different. Hence, a 2005 research may not be accurate in the context of COVID-19. Moreover, the NIH has also paused the clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “most people with COVID-19 have mild illness and can recover at home without medical care.” Hence, it stands to reason that some of her patients may be in this category.

Meanwhile, when Facebook and Twitter took down the video in question. The doctor reacted to this, as seen in the screenshot below. 

Conclusion

Health authorities have responded to various claims regarding Hydroxychloroquine, stating that the drug is not effective against the new coronavirus. As it is, there is no cure for the new coronavirus yet. Therefore, the claims made in the viral video are far from accurate.

The headline of a news article claims ‘nobody truly recovers from COVID-19’

COVID-19 patients recover from the virus but some may suffer some health complications. That aside, the headline of the news story is misleading as the source cited was misrepresented and did not state that.

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COVID-19 has given health practitioners new experiences in their field of work. An example of such experience with COVID-19 is one recounted in a tweet by a nurse as the worst disease she has ever worked with, as she further stated some effects of the virus on a recovered patient. The tweet has also been shared on Facebook and has received several interactions.

A news story which reported on the nurse’s statements on the effects of the virus has a headline claiming that “Nobody truly recovers from COVID-19”, attributing the said claim to the nurse.

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In the tweet by the Twitter user Cherie Antoinette that the media organisation referenced, the nurse did not state that nobody truly recovers from COVID-19. What she did was to list a number of complications she claimed that one may suffer from the virus even after recovery, which she said most people are not privy to. 

“COVID 19 is the worst disease process I’ve ever worked with in my eight years as an ICU nurse. When they say “recovered” they don’t tell you that that means you may need a lung transplant. Or that you may come back after d/c (discharge) with a massive heart attack or stroke bc (because) COVID makes  your blood thick as hell. Or that you may have to be on oxygen for the rest of your life. COVID is designed to kill. It is a highly intelligent virus and it attacks everything. We will run out of resources if we don’t continue to flatten the  curve. I’m exhausted,” she tweeted.

More so, Dubawa reached out to Cherie Antoinette, who is a nurse at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Northside Atlanta and Grady Memorial Hospitals, and received an in-depth narration of the nurse’s experience with the readmission of a previous mild case of a COVID-19 patient – an experience she acknowledged was the cause of her tweet stemming from exhaustion and frustration. 

She recounted to Dubawa her experience with a mild COVID-19 patient who was readmitted with graver complications. The patient was readmitted with a heart attack and cardiogenic shock. Additionally, his foot was completely black and blue from a newly developed clot which she said were complications from COVID-19. 

“The unknown nature of the inflammatory process and the severity of the case is just uncertain. We must take all precautions to prevent infection. We can not get relaxed or complacent in our social distancing and hand-washing. Donning a mask is crucial. A once thought singular infection is proving to be a more sinister chronic process. There is just so much we don’t know about this virus or the long-term implications. That warrants great caution’’, Cherie stated.

We also interviewed a Ghanaian doctor with Tantra Community Clinic, Dr Senyo Misroame, who threw light on the nurse’s tweet. 

“She is not wrong in saying that. What she means to say is that the patient could have some complications even after recovering from the virus. Because you can recover from COVID-19 but later have some complications, which does not affect the patient’s recovery status. There is a difference, ” Dr Misroame said. 

He further explained that to recover from the virus means the patient does not show signs and symptoms of the virus, and there is also evidence of laboratory tests proving that the patient does not have the virus anymore, which confirms such patients as negative.

“When we use recovery in the strictest medical sense, it means there is not an active viral presence of COVID-19 in you anymore,” he said.

“However, we have found that there are some that could have immediate, medium or long-term complications after their recovery, such as stroke, their blood vessels getting thinner, respiratory problems, long term brain damage, just as the nurse indicated. We are still learning,” Dr Misroame added. 

Dr Misroame also clarified that if anyone is said not to have recovered, they are the patients who are described to have a case of Chronic COVID-19 which usually lasts beyond 6 weeks and even 6 months of testing positive. However, people do recover from COVID-19 although it is possible that some who do, may develop some complications either early or late.

Additionally, medical research has indicated complications associated with COVID-19 affecting the organs of patients long-term. For example, a study published by the American Heart Association showed that recovered COVID-19 patients could be affected with chronic cardiac complications due to persistent inflammation caused by the virus. 

Another study published by the Radiological Society of North America found that 66 out of 70 Wuhan COVID-19 discharged patients had lung abnormalities from their last CT scan results over a month after their discharges from the hospital. 

In view of this, a public health study published by the US National Institute of Health conducted on the post-recovery status of COVID-19 patients made some recommendations. The study showed possible complications some recovered patients may have, as a result of a multi-organ damage on the brain, heart, lungs, kidney, eyes and digestive tract, caused by the virus, and recommended the need to follow-up on recovered patients to have a  more comprehensive view of the virus and allow for timely medical interventions. 

“People who have recovered from COVID-19 should be more careful in maintaining and monitoring their health status. They have to be in regular monitoring for their future complications that may occur after their recovery. Hence, the recovered patients are recommended to complete a master health check-up to scout for risks for other diseases”, the study recommended.

Conclusion

The headline of the news report that nobody truly recovers from COVID-19 is misleading. The original post by the nurse on Twitter, which was referenced by the media organisation, only listed a number of complications that could be associated with the virus even after recovery. 

A Ghanaian medical doctor further explained the nurse’s statements by stating that recovering from COVID-19 is different from having complications from COVID-19. By explaining recovery as no longer having an active presence of the virus, the doctor stated that there are people who recover from the virus with no complications, while others also recover from the virus but could derive some early or late complications, which does not affect their COVID-19 recovery status in any way.

PS: This article has been updated to include a response by Cherie Antoinette, the Twitter user whose tweet was the basis of the claim.

Viral social media messages claim the World Health Organisation has said COVID-19 patients can not transmit the virus from one patient to another, and that patients do not need isolation, quarantine, and social distancing.

The WHO has clarified that although about two or three studies have shown that the transmission by asymptomatic patients is very rare, it cannot be applied globally as there is ongoing research globally on the spread of the virus and the role of asymptomatic patients in the transmission of the virus. 

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Over the past weeks, the transmissibility of COVID-19 by asymptomatic patients has been of public interest among some Ghanaians. This is following a parliamentarian and former deputy Trade Minister, Carlos Ahenkorah’s claim that he is asymptomatic and is unable to transmit the virus to others as he referenced the World Health Organization (WHO) when he was interviewed on why he left isolation to go among people.

A message was, thereafter, circulated on Ghanaian WhatsApp media making similar claim purported to be by the WHO that COVID-19 patients do not need isolation, quarantine, nor social distancing and that the virus can not be transmitted among patients.

The message reads:

Breaking News: The World Health Organization has taken a complete U turn and said that Corona patients neither need to be isolated nor quarantined, nor social of distance, and it cannot even transmit from one patient to another. See the video.

The message is accompanied by a video from an American news organisation, NewsMaxTv. 

In the video posted on June 9, 2020, the host, Greg Kelly, is seen playing back a press conference by the WHO the day before, and later interviewing a doctor, Dr David Samadi, to contribute to what the WHO purportedly said concerning the rare transmission of asymptomatic patients. 

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The video that accompanies the viral message did not mention the claim quoting WHO as saying COVID-19 patients do not need to isolate, quarantine or observe social distancing. 

However, Dr David Samadi is heard making claims regarding asymptomatic patients that,

“They are taking a 360 turn and the WHO is announcing that asymptomatic people out there are not contagious.” 

In a contrary statement, Dr Samadi later stated in the video that asymptomatic patients’ risk of passing the virus on to other people is very rare.

What the WHO said on the rarity of asymptomatic transmission

Dubawa found the WHO press conference of Monday 8th June, 2020, where the asymptomatic transmission claims by the WHO were purported to have been made. 

During the conference, there was no mention that asymptomatic patients are not contagious. The Covid-19 Technical Lead for WHO, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, was asked about the transmission of asymptomatic patients, and she did mention that the transmission of asymptomatic transmission was rare She, however, added that this was based on the country reports the WHO had received so far:

“We have a number of reports from countries who are doing very detailed contact tracing. They’re following asymptomatic cases, they’re following contacts and they’re not finding secondary transmission onward. It’s very rare and much of that is not published in the literature. From the papers that are published, there’s one that came out from Singapore looking at a long-term care facility. There are some household transmission studies where you follow individuals over time and you look at the proportion of those that transmit onwards.”

She further stated that more information from countries would be needed to fully make a conclusion on asymptomatic transmission of coronavirus.

“We are constantly looking at this data and we’re trying to get more information from countries to truly answer this question. It still appears to be rare that an asymptomatic individual actually transmits onward.” 

WHO’s clarification concerning asymptomatic transmission

As it had been generally perceived that the WHO had concluded that asymptomatic patients rarely transmit the virus, the following day, 9th June 2020, the WHO clarified the statements by Dr Kerkhove. The clarification was made via a live Q&A broadcast on COVID-19 transmission.

During the session, Dr Kerkhove acknowledged that her diction ‘very rare’ to describe the transmission rate of asymptomatic patients was miscommunicated. She further noted that her statements from the previous day were based on just two or three studies that have been published on asymptomatic transmission rates and she did not mean that to imply the case of global asymptomatic transmission.

She added that the findings from the studies she referenced in answering questions about the transmission rate of asymptomatic patients was not a policy by the WHO, but just a very small subset of studies known to WHO at the time she spoke. 

However, Dr Kerkhove added that asymptomatic patients can transmit the virus as a model shows that an estimate of about 40 per cent of transmission may be due to asymptomatic patients. 

“We do know that some people who are asymptomatic, or some people who do not have symptoms, can transmit the virus on,’’ she said. 

WHO officials during the broadcast stated that a lot remains unknown about transmission rates and there is still ongoing research on the virus, as scientists are still learning about the virus and how it spreads.

Furthermore, in a publication by the WHO on 11 June 2020, the organisation stated that global research continues to be conducted on the asymptomatic transmission of the virus.

The publication reads: “Comprehensive studies on transmission from asymptomatic patients are difficult to conduct, as they require testing of large population cohorts and more data are needed to better understand and quantify the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2.  WHO is working with countries around the world, and global researchers, to gain better evidence-based understanding of the disease as a whole, including the role of asymptomatic patients in the transmission of the virus.’’

Several news publications here, here, here, have reported on this clarification by the WHO that evidence of rate of asymptomatic transmission remains globally inconclusive.  

What the WHO has said concerning symptomatic transmission

The WHO have stated that it is known that most COVID-19 transmission is by symptomatic patients.

“The majority of transmission that we know about is that people who have symptoms transmit the virus to other people through infectious droplets,” Dr. Kerkhove said. 

Conclusion

The claim that the WHO has stated that Covid-19 patients can not transmit the virus is false. The WHO indicated that a few studies have shown that the transmission by asymptomatic patients is very rare, yet it cannot be applied globally as there is ongoing research globally on the spread of the virus and the role of asymptomatic patients in the transmission of the virus. 

Further, the WHO stated that there is evidence of the transmissibility of the virus by both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.

“I am asymptomatic, I do not transfer” – Hon Carlos Ahenkorah 

While the WHO has stated that asymptomatic patients are less likely to transmit the virus, the global health organization and other health experts, have further stated that this knowledge is inconclusive and that global research is ongoing to ascertain this claim. Nonetheless, the CDC has provided evidence-based research on the transmission of the virus by asymptomatic people and how such persons have contributed to the spread of the virus in society.

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While it is true that COVID-19 has been quite dynamic, the transmissibility of the virus remains a constant theme among health experts. It is because of the lack of a definitive statement about the transmissibility of the virus that health experts urge individuals to observe all COVID-19 protocols.  

One of such protocols was reported to have been breached when a COVID-19 positive asymptomatic patient, Carlos Ahenkorah, member of parliament for Tema West and former deputy trades minister, who had been advised by his doctor to self-isolate, admitted to visiting his constituency’s voters’ registration centre where people had gathered to register for new Voter ID cards ahead of the elections in December 2020.

In an interview with Citi Fm, the former minister was asked if he announced to the Electoral Commission staff, with whom he interacted, that he was positive in order for them to be careful. 

In his response, he said:

“I always explain myself this way, that I am asymptomatic, I do not transfer…. If I do not show symptoms, that’s what the WHO says, this time after 10 days you can go without doing any other tests.’’

Mr Ahenkorah’s conduct has since been discussed extensively on mainstream and social media with many calling for his resignation which has been announced by the government.

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Health experts on the transmissibility of asymptomatic patients

In a publication on 11 June 2020, the World Health Organisation stated that available evidence from contact tracing reported by countries show that asymptomatic patients are much less likely to transmit the virus than those who develop symptoms. 

The organization further added that, 

“Comprehensive studies on transmission from asymptomatic patients are difficult to conduct, as they require testing of large population cohorts and more data are needed to better understand and quantify the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2. 

WHO is, therefore, working with countries around the world, and global researchers, to gain better evidence-based understanding of the disease as a whole, including the role of asymptomatic patients in the transmission of the virus”. 

Other reports here, here, also indicate that the WHO and some health experts have stated that research is ongoing and that the transmissibility of asymptomatic patients is rare or unlikely is inconclusive. 

Other public health experts also state that although they “don’t know how much spread is caused by  asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic patients, there are some telling hints that it is a major driver of this pandemic.”

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a research publication, has also provided evidence on the transmissibility of the virus by asymptomatic people. The research indicated that asymptomatic people have contributed to the rapid spread of the virus in communities.

Dubawa also spoke to a Ghanaian medical expert, Dr Senyo Misroame at Tantra Community Clinic.

Dr Misroame stated that once a person has tested positive, they are required to be in isolation. Misroame added that in practice, patients in the Ghanaian community are not required to leave isolation until after 14 or 21 days when they have been cleared by tests.

He further explained that even though medical experts are not too sure as yet about the transmissibility of asymptomatic patients, it is not safe to take any chances, hence the caution to for people to adhere to safety protocols in each community.

“It is uncertain to know who has the virus or not especially if they do not show symptoms, that is why the protocols of wearing face masks, social distancing, regular handwashing have been advised strongly by health experts,” Dr Misroame said.

Conclusion

The claim that asymptomatic patients do not transfer the virus is misleading. Although the WHO has stated that asymptomatic patients are less likely to transmit the virus than symptomatic patients, the organization has also indicated that evidence about transmissibility is inconclusive, as global research is on about this dimension of the disease. While other medical experts remain uncertain of the transmissibility of asymptomatic people, they insist on the necessity to heed all Covid-19 safety protocols, especially as the CDC has provided an example of transmission of the virus by some asymptomatic carriers of the virus in society.

Over the last few months, we have not only had to deal with a pandemic but also with what the World Health Organisation (WHO) calls an ‘infodemic’. Separating truth from falsehood has been a major headache for members of the public.

We wake up to see such messages as “Share this information with your family and loved ones”, “forward to as many people as you can” on many social media platforms.

Since March this year when Ghana registered its index case of COVID-19, the Dubawa team has come across several COVID-19 related messages, especially on social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp.

Our fact-checking of these messages revealed similar results – the messages were either false or taken out of context. In fact, most of the posts flagged to Dubawa by Facebook as part of its Third-Party Partnership, especially on COVID-19 remedies, turned out to be false.

We have also observed that false information flying around at a particular time is determined by current happenings or major events. Therefore, different types of false information surfaced when there was no reported case, no report of any index case, during the lockdown and now as schools have resumed.

For instance, information that circulated when Africa had not reported a case claimed Africans were immune to the virus because of the hot climate. The narrative, however, changed after the continent registered cases.

Trend/ patterns of COVID-19 false information

We have noticed a trend in the kinds of COVID-19 related messages that have circulated on social media since the outbreak of the pandemic in Ghana. We put them into the following categories:

1. Denial of the existence of the disease in Ghana
2. Purported COVID-19 cures or remedies
3. Photos and videos taken out of context
4. Financial/ Internet Scams
5. Playing politics with COVID-19 
6. Conspiracy theories

1. Denial of the existence of the disease in Ghana

We found that when the disease started hitting other parts of the world, claims of African immunity and the inability of the virus to thrive on the continent on several social media platforms. Later when cases were registered, viral messages questioned or doubted the existence of the virus on the continent. Even when Ghana’s index cases were reported, old videos of health officials denying the presence of the virus in the country when no case had been recorded, were resurrected to say there was really no case recorded.

2. Purported COVID-19 cures or remedies

While the number of infections rises, purported remedies and cures for the virus also surfaced. This is a major theme that keeps recurring but was more widespread at the beginning of the pandemic in Ghana – as has been the case in other countries.

And they keep resurfacing, sometimes with just a little tweak to them. It is, therefore, not surprising to see a claim which has been debunked in March reappear on social media months later.

The problem with some of these remedies is that people who share them do not necessarily agree on what they are supposed to do. So in one breath, we have seen messages which claim eating a bowl of freshly boiled garlic can cure COVID-19 and others that say it can prevent the contraction of the disease.

We have also come across messages that say drinking alcohol (akpeteshie) can kill the virus that causes COVID-19. The logic behind this is that if using alcohol-based hand sanitizer will kill the virus, then drinking alcoholic beverages will do a much faster job.

This information is not only false but is also very dangerous as we have heard of instances in other parts of the world of people who have died from binging on alcohol after circulation of similar messages in their countries.

About two months ago, Sobolo (hibiscus tea) became very much sought after in parts of Ghana after a viral video claimed it had been used to treat and cure coronavirus in China. And messages to encourage Ghanaians to imitate Chinese by  using sobolo proliferated across the country.

Our verification process showed that none of the supporting documents mentioned by the claimant backed the claim. In fact, one of the documents was about a study conducted in 2016 – when the world did not know about this new strain of coronavirus, COVID-19.

That particular study was about how some selected tea extracts, including hibiscus tea, have shown effects on H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV).

It is worth mentioning that hibiscus tea, according to research, may be useful in treating viral infections. However, currently, there is no evidence it has been used to cure or can cure COVID-19.

Other remedies which have been popular on social media as preventive and curative remedies include the use of Dettol disinfectant, eating alkaline food or fruits, steam bathing (apun), inhalation of steam, eating ginger, lemon, gargling with saline solution, drinking lots of water, having loads of sex, chloroquine and hydroxyl chloroquine. Recently, there was a claim that people who have hair in their nostrils are unlikely to contract the disease.

3. Manipulated photos, Videos

Old photos and videos of events which happened prior to COVID-19 have reappeared online but with different captions implying they were incidents which happened during the current pandemic.

As mentioned earlier, these videos are tied to major events or happenings. Therefore, during the partial lockdown of parts of the country, several videos circulated of military brutalities, some of which later proved to be false.

For example, one viral video which found its way into mainstream media and was part of the evening news bulletin on a major TV station, claimed law enforcement agencies in Zimbabwe used force to enforce lockdown directives. The government of Ghana was, therefore, urged to imitate Zimbabwe. The video in question, however, had nothing to do with the pandemic but was of an incident which happened in 2019. Zimbabwe had not recorded a COVID-19 case at the time.

Photos of food distribution exercises during the lockdown period were also taken out of context. We found them to be unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photos of a weeping Brazilian president were said to be of Italian president who had lost all hopes due to the havoc COVD-19 was wreaking on his country. Stories of Italians throwing away money because it had become useless to them all featured on social media. Again, these were old photos rehashed but with different narratives.

4. Financial/ Internet Scams

In the face of the economic hardships resulting from the pandemic, scammers also took advantage of the situation to dupe (or try to dupe) unsuspecting persons.

Melcom was said to be giving out free vouchers; the WHO and phone manufacturing companies including Vivo to be running promos. Footballer Christiano Ronaldo was also purported to be giving out money to aid households affected by the pandemic and the Ghana Armed Forces undertaking ‘protocol’ recruitments.

Some of these claims had unsafe links which redirected people to fake websites, while others circulated dubious instructions for getting involved in said promos.

These were all false as parties said to be involved denied being that charitable.

5. Conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theories on the origin of the virus and even its existence were and are still viral.

One photo claimed the WHO said it was unsure the virus exists on the African continent.

Others claimed Bill Gates is behind the outbreak, that it was planned years ago as part of his goal to get the whole world vaccinated. Some also claimed President Barack Obama had warned Africans against being vaccinated as it was an attempt by ‘white people to kill Africans with their toxic vaccines’.

6. Playing politics with COVID-19 

Another worrying trend we have observed was the exploitation of the current situation by political actors to either make their candidates look good or to discredit political opponents. We have seen messages attributed to major political figures including the President and his appointees, the former president and flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and members of his party. In all cases when we verified, the claims were false.

For instance, in March, a Facebook post which was flagged to Dubawa as part of its Third-Party Partnership with Facebook claimed that former President John Mahama said he would not contribute his money, which is earmarked for his campaign, to the COVID-19 fight. This claim we found out to be false.

Another post flagged to us by Facebook in April said the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, said he would resign from the presidency and withdraw from the December 7 elections if Ghana’s COVID-19 cases exceeded 500. This was debunked by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, when contacted.

How can you verify information on Social Media?

With the avalanche of information members of the public are being bombarded with day in and day out, how can we differentiate between true and false information? How can we do this, considering that despite several fact-checks, false information creators seem to be gaining the upper hand owing to the availability of sophisticated technology to aid them?

While it is sometimes difficult to authenticate information we receive on social media, there are a few things we can do to ensure we do not fall for them and inadvertently share false information we receive on false message-carrying platforms.

The first thing to do is NOT to immediately share or forward messages without verification, especially if they arouse in you strong emotions like fear and anger. It is sometimes a ploy by creators of false information to use you to gain traction. So VERIFY first, before forwarding to others.

Here are some tips to guide you:

1. Read beyond the headline: Unfortunately, headlines of some stories usually click baits, designed to get traffic unto another website designed by owners to scam readers. So read the entire content to get the full story. For instance, during the lockdown, we saw misleading headlines like this: ‘A total lockdown will be imposed if Ghanaians fails to adhere – Oppong Nkrumah warns.’ And just over the weekend, another sensational headline ‘Mahama arrested for defiling three girls’. Without reading the entire story, one will go away with a totally wrong notion.
2. Who is the source of the information? Pay attention to the ‘contact us’ or ‘about us’ section of the page to validate and verify content creators. Are they a credible source of information or just promoters of satirical websites? On Facebook and other social media platforms, explore the account of the source to ascertain the kinds of information they usually share.
3.  Check the author: If it is a random message on social media, find out who the writer is. Are they credible and are they even real? Beware of messages from ‘a friend’s sister who works in a hospital’, ‘a doctor in China’ and the ubiquitous ‘Didier Raoult. Does the author mention their source of information? Are they passing on factual information or are they just expressing their opinion?
4. Explore the supporting evidence: Click on hyperlinks embedded in messages and documents cited to determine if they actually support the claim being made – as Dubawa did with the claim that Sobolo was used to treat and cure coronavirus in China.
5. Check dates to be sure the message or information is not being used out of context. As has been exemplified from the very beginning of the pandemic in Ghana, old photos, videos and even textual content, unrelated to an event, can be rehashed during major crises.
6. Pay attention to the writing, language and format: Sloppy writing characterised by grammatical and spelling mistakes is a sign that the message is likely false. Note that a press release or message from a government agency is unlikely to be informal, contain ‘slangs’ or grammatical errors.
7. Pay close attention to the URLs: Many malicious news websites clone authentic sites with slight modifications to URLs. So we can have timeslive.co.za become t1meslive.co.za. Spot the difference? So a phoney or look-alike link may be an indication of false news.
8. For content which is devoid of grammatical and spelling errors and some of the tell-tale signs of ‘fake news’ mentioned above, check out what other users are saying about the post. Read comments and questions left under the post – they may lead you to the truth.
9. Videos and images are a bit tricky but still verifiable. Look out for visual cues or details in the photo or video – for example, shadows, reflections, street names, weather, odd body parts, lip synchronisation. Also, check comments by other users; sometimes they lead us to the truth. You can also use simple digital tools such as Google Reverse image search and Invid to authenticate photos and videos respectively.
10. Verify with other credible news or information outlets or with fact-checking platforms: Google can also help with this – just copy and paste a portion of the message in the search engine and see what it churns out.
11. You can ask for our assistance if you are unsure of information you receive. Contact us via WhatsApp: 0542 81 81 89, on Facebook @dubawa, Twitter @DubawaGh or via email @contact@dubawa.com. Alternatively, you can check our website, Ghana.dubawa.org for more. 

In conclusion, fact-checking or verification is very crucial in these times. It also yields results. From our partnership with Facebook, we know that about 95 percent of people who saw warning labels on posts which had been rated false by fact-checkers did not view the original content and therefore were not exposed to false information contained in them. Thus, when people are aware that the information they are about to consume is false, they avoid them. 

Therefore, it is important to continue fact-checking to debunk false information and ensure members of the public, social media users especially, have access to factual and verified information.

We continue to count on the support of relevant bodies in this endeavour.

President Akufo-Addo has, in an audiotape, warned Ghanaians of a Coronavirus plan reported in an article by the Rockefeller Foundation.

The speaker in the audio is not President Akufo-Addo. Although a document published by the Rockefeller Foundation in May 2010 with a chapter titled ‘Lockstep’ was found, the chapter does not contain the exact content read by the speaker in the audio. 

Full text

The conspiracies surrounding COVID-19 do not seem to be tailing off, as a 14-minute audio purported to be from the President of Ghana, Akufo-Addo, warns Ghanaians to pay attention to an alleged extract from an article titled ‘Rockefeller Lockstep 2010’ on the Rockefeller website. 

In the audio, the speaker’s main claim is on the Rockefeller Foundation’s detailing of a simulated global outbreak, the required steps involved, the various phases required, the overall timeline and the expected outcomes.

Some of the plans and phases the speaker purports to be from the article include: 

1.The creation of morbid viruses such as SARS, MERS and HIV in a laboratory to be stolen and smuggled to Wuhan, China as a pandemic.

2. The Foundation’s plans to fund organisations such as WHO, CDC and the UN

3. The creation and funding of a vaccination development plan, vaccination verification certification protocols, digital IDs to enforce the vaccination program after the mandatory rollout is enacted

4. The control of a depopulation agenda 

5. The establishment of public quarantine to destroy regions’ economy

6. The creation of civil unrest, breakdown of supply chain to cause the start of mass food shortages, as well as weaken immune systems due to lack of interaction.

The speaker further requested for the audio to be passed around to create awareness so that the document can be pulled down from the Rockefeller website.

The audio circulating is accompanied by a message which reads:

THIS VERY IMPORTANT SECRET AUDIOTAPE BY THE PRESIDENT OF GHANA MUST BE CIRCULATED TO THE ENTIRE HUMANITY FOR EXTREME AWARENESS OF THE CORONAVIRUS PLOT

Verification

The speaker in the audio

It is evident that the voice of the speaker in the audio is not that of President Akufo-Addo. Yet, Dubawa further contacted the spokesperson for the President of Ghana, Eugene Arhin, who could not be reached yet. Additionally, Dubawa has contacted the Ministry of Information and awaiting a response.

President Akufo-Addo has made no official announcements in any publication or on any platform concerning such a matter. Rather, he continues to publicly update Ghanaians on measures and efforts by the government to contain the spread of the virus.

The content of Lockstep 2010

Dubawa found a 54-page pdf document titled Scenarios for the Future of Technology and International Development – a report produced by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Global Business Network, published in May 2010.

The document focuses on how technology can help in globalisation by using scenario planning to develop strategies to respond to each scenario over a period of years.

On page 18 of the document, which contains that chapter on the ‘Lockstep’ as a Scenario Narrative, the document indicates the LockStep to be ‘a world of tighter top-down government control and authoritarian leadership with limited innovation and growing citizen pushback’. 

It predicts and narrates a global pandemic expected in 2012, which would affect world economies and international mobility of persons. It is also expected to affect industries such as tourism and break global supply chains. Locally, the global pandemic is also expected to affect shops and buildings by keeping them empty of supplies for months. The chapter also predicts how the most pandemic-prepared and developed countries would be overwhelmed, as countries such as America would be unable to contain the spread whereas China would have a quick and effective enforcement of mandatory quarantine for its citizens. 

The global pandemic is also predicted to result in mandatory wearing of face masks, body temperature checks at communal spaces, and states that Ghana’s government would have ambitious programmes to improve basic infrastructure and ‘ensure the availability of clean water for all her people’ which would lead to ‘a sharp decline in water-borne diseases’. 

It stipulates that people would grow weary of so much top-down control and letting leaders and authorities make choices for them to the extent that there would be protests. It further predicts that developed countries would have innovations and technology whereas developing countries’ access to technology would remain limited.

It finalises the import of this narrative and provides timelines for the occurrences from 2010 to 2030. 

Although the Rockefeller 2010 Lockstep chapter Dubawa accessed contains simulations on a hypothesised global pandemic with indicated timelines with the purpose of using technology to enforce governmental control on citizens, the chapter does not reveal the exact claims made by the speaker in the audio, unless such claims are otherwise contained in another similar document. 

It is, however, certain that the speaker is not the president of Ghana.

Conclusion

The claim that the president of Ghana has cautioned Ghanaians of a Coronavirus plan by the Rockefeller Foundation is false. President Akufo-Addo has made no official pronouncement or publication of such announcements to Ghanaians.

Also, even though the Rockefeller Foundation document containing the 2010 Lockstep chapter simulates a global pandemic and predicts its global effects, the content is not the same as the claims the speaker makes in the viral audio. 

A Covid-19 tracker has been added in the settings section of every Android and iPhone 

A Covid-19 Exposure Notifications feature has been jointly designed by Apple and Google for its mobile phone users. The feature is by itself not a tracker and is only functional when a corresponding Covid-19 tracking application is downloaded and when the Bluetooth on the device is enabled. The feature is built to assist government and health authorities with contact tracing as users are notified with anyone who was reported to have Covid-19.

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It is expected that most people are wary of their privacy. That is why a viral WhatsApp message suggests a tone of caution, alerting Android and iOS mobile phone users of an inserted Covid-19 tracker in their phones found in the settings section. 

The message reads:

Attention

COVID-19 sensor has been inserted into every phone. Apparently when everyone was having ‘phone disruptions’ earlier this week, they were adding COVID-19 Trackers to our phones!

If you have an Android phone, go under Settings, then Google setting and it’s there. If you have an iPhone, go to settings, privacy, then health, It’s there but not yet functional.”

Please check and confirm. 

The message has also been shared on other platforms.

Verification

Dubawa followed the directives in the message and found a COVID-19 Exposure Notifications feature found in the Settings and Google Settings section for Android users, and in the Settings, Privacy and Health section for iPhone users.

As the viral message indicated that the feature is not yet functional, the feature shows that it is turned off till the user’s Bluetooth is enabled. Additionally, there needs to be an installation or finishing of a participating app before the Covid-19 exposure notifications feature is turned on. 

Further, as the message stated of a sensor and tracker, the feature indicates that the app installed ‘can notify you if you’ve been near someone who reported having COVID-19’ 

An example from an Android phone shows in the photos below:

What is the Covid-19 Exposure Notifications?

In April 2020, two technology companies Apple and Google announced a partnership of introducing a Bluetooth enabled technology that would assist governments and health authorities with contact tracing as a measure to reduce the spread of  Covid-19.

Google explains that,

“Exposure Notifications on your smartphone enables contact tracing apps to send you a notification if you’ve likely been exposed to Covid-19. Contact tracing apps will be developed by your local public health authority, not by Google or Apple”

Apple further explains that this is “to enable a broader Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform by building this functionality into the underlying platforms.’’

They added that “This is a more robust solution than an API and would allow more individuals to participate, if they choose to opt in, as well as enable interaction with a broader ecosystem of apps and government health authorities’’

Both technology companies by detailing how the feature operates here and here, have also stated that this feature is built to protect users’ privacy and security. These include settings such as users’ control over whether or not they receive exposure notifications, the feature’s inability to track users’ location and the identity of users remaining unseen by Google, Apple and other users.

As explained by the tech companies, Covid-19 Exposure Notifications is not an application; however, it simply notifies phone users once the feature is turned on, and it is also only effective when a corresponding Covid-19 tracking application from the users’ government public health authority is installed. 

Thus, for the Ghanaian context, for instance, the Covid-19 Exposure Notifications feature is built to be enabled by the Ghana Covid-19 Tracker app, once the app is downloaded.

Dubawa spoke to the Regional Director of National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Richard Okyere-Fosu, who further clarified that this in-built Covid-19 Exposure Notifications feature on phones is totally different from the Ghana Covid-19 Tracker app launched by the Ministry of Communication in April 2020.

”This is different for the Covid-19 Tracker app. With our Covid-19 Tracker, you have to download it first,” Mr Okyere-Fosu stated. 

Conclusion

The viral message alerting Android and iPhone users of an inserted Covid-19 tracker is partly true. While it is true that a Covid-19 Exposure Notifications feature has been jointly designed by Apple and Google for its mobile phone users, the feature is by itself not a tracker. It is only functional by downloading a corresponding Covid-19 tracking application, as well as enabling Bluetooth on the smartphone. The feature is built to assist government and health authorities with contact tracing by notifying mobile phone users of anyone who was reported to have Covid-19.

As part of its routine update on the Covid-19 situation in Ghana, the Disease Surveillance Department of the Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health revealed that there had been a total of 10, 074 recovered cases, on 20 June 2020.

The updated number of total recoveries indicated an increase of about 6,000 recoveries since the last update of 4,548 recovered cases the day before. This has consequently led to some Ghanaian social media users’ doubt in the sudden increase in recovery cases, as it is assumed to have happened overnight. While others have noted that the numbers are inconsistent with previous recovery rates, others have also requested for an explanation on the increase in recovered cases. 

GHS announced an amended discharge policy before reporting the recovery cases

What some Ghanaians may not have been privy to prior to the sudden spike in recovery cases is that an amended discharge policy was announced. 

On 18 June 2020, two days before the ‘10,074 recovery cases’ was reported, the Director-General of Ghana Health Service, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, announced and explained the amended Discharge Policy for Covid-19 patients during a press briefing at the Ministry of Information. He later elaborated on the change in policy in some media interviews the same day.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye stated that the new guidelines for discharging patients were in accordance with a revised policy from the World Health Organisation, and added that this policy of discharging patients was to take effect immediately. 

The amended discharge policy explained

At the press briefing, Dr Kuma-Aboagye stated new discharge protocols that had been agreed among some Ghana Health Service directors, stakeholders, and scientists indicating that resolution of symptoms, not tests, would be used in discharging patients. 

He said that asymptomatic Covid-19 patients would be discharged 14 days after the initial positive test. By this, such patients who were mostly in isolation centres could be discharged and did not require any further tests to prove negative, as they were not showing symptoms.

For symptomatic patients, he stated that they would be discharged three days after showing no symptoms, following 14 days after testing positive and responding to treatment. He further explained that for such patients who were mostly hospitalised and no longer pose any threat, they may now conduct their negative test at home and later go for a review as needed.

According to Dr Kuma-Aboagye, even though some patients did not yet have their lab results in, the new guidelines permitted for a significant number of people to be discharged unless patients had other conditions.

“We hope that will also allow us more time to focus on the new cases and be able to give more attention to those who are newly positive and then also create space in our facilities to be able to take care of new cases,” Dr Kuma-Aboagye said at the press briefing.

An official at WHO Ghana also explained to Dubawa that using the new discharged criteria, patients no longer have to wait for long to be discharged in contrast to the previous criteria which necessitated patients to undergo two negative tests before they could be discharged.

Are discharged patients considered recovered?

Even though Dr Kuma-Aboagye had stated earlier that discharges were not the same as recoveries, yet following the new protocol, the Ghana Health Service is now counting discharges and recoveries together.

“We do not intend to separate discharge and recovery”, Dr. Kuma-Aboagye  stated.

In a press briefing on 23 June 2020, he explained that the recoveries are clinical recoveries which indicated that such patients are symptom-free and are unable to infect others, as a result, they were discharged and considered as recovered. 

He stated further that all such persons should be received in society and not stigmatised. 

Hence, the new protocol for discharging patients caused the spike in the number of recoveries while the gap between the announcement of the amended discharge protocol could have startled citizens about the sudden rise of patients leaving hospital after receiving full treatment, apart from staying in the hospital to take post-treatment testing. 

Ghana has one of the highest numbers of tests conducted for COVID-19 on the African continent -President Akufo-Addo 

An official from WHO Ghana has confirmed Ghana to be among African countries testing in high numbers on the continent. Furthermore, available data for eleven other African countries in comparison with Ghana, also prove this assertion to be true.

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Health experts have shown the importance of testing for COVID-19 in order to help isolate or hospitalize and treat infected people, as well as to help identify the prevalence, spread and contagiousness of the virus in the community. 

It is in this light that in a recent update on measures taken to combat the spread of Coronavirus, President Akufo-Addo stated the government of Ghana’s efforts to reduce the number of cases through tracing, testing and treating. 

He highlighted that the total number of tests conducted in Ghana as at 13 June 2020, was 254, 331- a number which he stated was one of the highest on the African continent, especially in relation to Ghana’s population of 31 million. 

Verification

Dubawa spoke to an official from the WHO office in Ghana who confirmed the claim:

“Oh yes, Ghana is one of the countries testing high numbers in Africa’’

News reports here, here, here, reveal that testing rates in Africa are generally low as most African countries were not conducting tests for COVID-19 due to a number of constraints.  

Yet, for some that were testing, Dubawa found data available on the total tests conducted as at 13 June 2020 for the following twelve African countries, with their corresponding population. 

This is because, experts here, here, here, here indicate that the population of a country is a factor considered to indicate a country’s testing rate.

Country	Total tests conducted as of 13 June 2020	Population	Tests Per 1000 population(test/(population/1000))
Mauritius	142,889	1,271,768	112.354
Djibouti	40,855	988,000	41.351
South Africa	1,087,887	59,308,690	18.342
Ghana	254,331	31,072,940	8.184
Rwanda	87,656	12,952,218	6.767
Tunisia	59,887	11,818,619	5.067
Senegal	60,286	16,743,927	4.654
Uganda	125,491	45,741,007	2.743
Kenya	112,171	53,771,296	2.086
Zimbabwe	24,010	14,862,924	1.615
Ethiopia	176,504	114,963,588	1.535
Nigeria	90,464	206,139,589	0.438

Based on available data as of 13 June 2020 on the above twelve African countries, the testing rates show that Ghana is among the countries with high total tests conducted in Africa.

Conclusion

The President of Ghana’s statement that Ghana’s total tests conducted (254,331) for COVID-19 as at 13 June, 2020 is one of the highest on the African continent is true. 

Ghana ranks 4th out of 12 African countries with available figures on testing of citizens. An official from the World Health Organisation in Ghana has confirmed that Ghana is among countries in Africa testing high numbers. 

Moreover, available data from eleven other African countries prove this assertion.

A viral social media photo purports that a pandemic has occurred every 100 years in 1720, 1820, 1920 and 2020.

Although history records that disease outbreaks have happened during those periods, not all such outbreaks were actually pandemics and not all have occurred exactly in the years indicated. Furthermore, the occurrence of other pandemics within the period indicated demystifies the pattern of a pandemic only every 100 years. There is also no basis to prove such patterned occurrences.

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Yet another theory surrounding the coronavirus pandemic is a claim that it is part of a pattern of pandemics every 100 years. A photo of an Instagram post indicates that a theory proposes the occurrence of pandemics every 100 years. The post further exemplifies a 1720 plague, an 1820 cholera outbreak, a 1920 Spanish flu and the 2020 coronavirus pandemic as proof of the theory.

The photo, which appears to be an extract from a print publication on January 26, 2020, is captioned; “1720 Plague, 1820 Cholera Outbreak, 1920 Spanish Flu, 2020 Chinese Coronavirus- What’s happening?”

It further reads; “There is a theory that every 100 years a pandemic happens. At first glance, nothing seems strange, but the accuracy with which these events take place is scary.”

The photo has also been shared on Twitter and Facebook.

Verification

All Google Reverse image searches indicate that the photo is only associated with similar claims appearing on different platforms on the Internet. None of the searches shows the original source of the publication.

However, all the outbreaks listed, and their corresponding years were verified.

The case of the 1720 plague 

The 1720 plague, also referred to as The Great Plague of Marseille, can not be considered a pandemic, contrary to what the post states. Both the World Health Organisation and the Centres for Disease Control define a pandemic as a worldwide spread of a disease usually affecting a large number of people. However, the 1720 plague, which lasted from1720 to 1723, occurred in the city of Marseille and did not affect people beyond France. 

The plague is recorded to have been caused by fleas on plague-infected rodents from a docked ship in Marseille and killed an estimated number of 100,000 people in that city and surrounding provinces. 

The case of the 1820 Cholera outbreak

The Cholera outbreak first occurred in India in 1817 and lasted till 1824. The year 1820, therefore, is a period in which the outbreak lasted, not when it first occurred. However, 1820 is when it started becoming a pandemic, as it spread from India to affect and kill people in other parts of the world which makes the claim partly true.

According to historical accounts, this first Cholera pandemic spread throughout India to modern-day Myanmar and Sri-Lanka in 1817, then in 1820, it spread to Thailand, Indonesia, Sri-Lanka and China. In 1821, it affected Europe, modern-day Turkey, Syria and South Russia. And in 1822, Japan was also affected. 

The 1817 Cholera pandemic is recorded to be the first Cholera pandemic among seven Cholera pandemics that have occurred. 

The case of the 1920 Spanish flu

The claim of the 1920 Spanish flu shows inaccuracies in dates.

The influenza occurred in 1918 and lasted till 1920. This contradicts the claim stating that the pandemic occurred in 1920; rather, it ended in 1920. The Centre for Disease Control indicates that the flu spread worldwide, thereby becoming a pandemic between 1918 and 1919. The flu spread from Europe, America and parts of Asia to other parts of the world.

The flu, which was caused by an H1N1 virus is recorded to be the worst pandemic in recent history, affecting about one-third of the world’s population and killing an estimated 50 million people worldwide.

The case of the 2020 ‘Chinese Coronavirus’

The novel Coronavirus, Covid-19 was first reported in 2019 in China and was considered a pandemic in 2020 by the WHO, as it spread from China to affect and kill people around the world. 

No correlation whatsoever

Not only does the post inaccurately characterise the Plague as a pandemic, as well as show discrepancies in the dating of the occurrence of the Spanish flu, it also ignores other pandemics that have occurred before 1720 and within the 1720 -2020 year period. The occurrence of other pandemics consequently distorts the pattern of the 100-year occurrence of pandemics to show that pandemics have happened over the years in no specific pattern.

Furthermore, some health experts have stated that although some viruses are seasonal, and some epidemics are also cyclical, the Covid-19, as a new virus, is unpredictable, and there is also no basis to prove that pandemics happen every 100 years.

Conclusion

The claim that a pandemic happens every 100 years is only partly true. Although all the outbreaks listed have occurred in history, the claim wrongly characterises the plague as a pandemic and inaccurately dates the Spanish flu pandemic. The claim also neglects other pandemics that have happened within the period indicated, which show that pandemics have happened over the years in non-cyclical order. Some health experts have also stated that there is no basis to prove the occurrence of pandemics every 100 years.