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Government bans ‘mallams and priests’ from broadcasting on TV – news reports

The National Media Commission has not banned ‘mallams’ and ‘fetish priests’ from broadcasting on television.

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Claims that the National Media Commission (NMC) has banned traditional and Islamic religious personalities otherwise referred to as ‘fetish priests’ and ‘mallams’ respectively from actively engaging in broadcasting and advertising on television have been widespread.

Recently, social media and some mainstream media outlets like FoxFM Online,  and dailymailafrica.com reported that the NMC has banned traditional religious personalities from advertising and broadcasting on television. This ban, according to the reports, is to commence on Friday, May 1.

The claim is said to be a directive from President Nana Akufo-Addo sent through a letter to the National Media Commission (NMC). 

Verification

The National Media Commission (NMC) is a media regulatory institution responsible for registering, regulating and monitoring media activities in Ghana. As such, the Commission has oversight responsibility for the media and its contents. It is, therefore, not far-fetched that this claim is attributed to the commission.

In reaction, the NMC, however, says the news is fake. A press release issued on April 30 and signed by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, George Sarpong, stated that no such directive was given by his agency. 

According to the press release, the constitution insulates the Commission from interference or control by government and other bodies in the performance of its functions. Therefore, it would be “unconstitutional” for the president to give such a directive to the commission. 

Additionally, Mr Sarpong stated that the Commission’s Guidelines on Religious Broadcasting does not contain any provision empowering the agency to ban religious personalities from broadcasting on television. 

Conclusion

The NMC has not been directed by the president to ban the religious broadcasts of ‘fetish priests’ and ‘mallams’ on television. Citizens are advised to disregard this piece of fake news.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is running a promo with brand new phones and laptops at stake – Facebook post

The Facebook page which advertised the promo is not the official Facebook page of the WHO. The Organization is not running a promo.

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According to a post on Facebook, the World Health Organization (WHO) is running an April Promo. The first 20,000 people to type the word “Winner” without being interrupted by another user will win brand new phones and laptops, according to the post.

This post has been shared widely, generating a total 427 shares across the social media platform.

Many users are participating in the “promo” with some going to the extent of leaving their telephone numbers in the comments section so the organizers can contact them if they win. 

Verification

Many alarms go off immediately anyone looks at the page in question. Firstly, the Facebook page was created just yesterday, April 26.  It is also not linked to the official Facebook page of the World Health Organisations (WHO) which was created on November 18, 2010. 

Secondly, whereas the official page is verified, this suspicious Facebook page is not. Furthermore, although the page name reads as World Health Organisation, the acronym is written differently from the original. Whereas the original page writes WHO, this Facebook page writes W.H.O-NOW. 

Additionally, further checks from the WHO.int page has no indication of any such promo being run.

Again, no reports have been published on the existence or authenticity of such a promotion being run on any major news platform. Considering the fact that WHO is an international organisation, it is highly unlikely that it would carry out such a “promo” without it being covered by media agencies across the world. 

Conclusion

The WHO is not running a promo through which participants can win brand new phones and laptops. This claim is false and highly indicative of a scam. 

Ghanaian women head porters otherwise called ‘Kayayei’ were caught washing used surgical masks with the intention of selling to unsuspecting Ghanaians – social media posts

While the accompanying photos are true, the incident did not happen in Ghana but in Mozambique.

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Face masks are in high demand in Ghana following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, just as personal protective equipment (PPE) are in short supply after the onset of the pandemic.

A recent social media post showing surgical face masks scattered on the floor with some women washing them have gone viral. 

The texts accompanying the photos claim the women are Ghanaian head porters popularly known as ‘kayayei’ who were captured secretly washing used surgical face masks retrieved from refuse dumps with plans to resell them in traffic. 

A post on Facebook said; “Please be careful you do not buy any face masks in traffic. These kayayei pick them from refuse dumps wash them and resell them in traffic”. Please, we here at KLC will advice any Ghanaian up there to purchase face mask from store or the pharmacy or any authorized vendor whom you think is worthy to sell them. Picture below: Beware Stay safe Corona Virus is real.” 

The same post has also been shared multiple times on WhatsApp and Twitter. 

Verification

To verify this claim, we used Google Image search to find all samples of the exact images uploaded online. We also identified older versions of the photos and found that they first surfaced online on 18th April 2020. 

We also used phrases from the accompanying texts to confirm the exact source of the message using the First Tweet app.   

The search pointed to a Mozambican journalist, Alexandre Nhampossa, tweeting via @AllexandreMZ.

The journalist indicated to us, when we contacted him, that the photos were taken in the Dondo Municipality of Sofala Province in Mozambique. 

According to a statement shared by the Dondo City Council, the two women in the picture were workers in a Chinese-owned shipyard warehouse. They had been engaged by their employers to wash the disposable surgical masks which had been damaged by rains in the warehouse. 

The masks were to be sold later but the city authorities upon a tip-off, moved in to arrest the situation, seized the masks and incinerated them at a dumpsite.  

Conclusion

While it is true that the women captured in the images were busted washing disposed surgical masks, the incident did not happen in Ghana and the people involved are not head porters.  

Bill Gates says there will be no public/mass gatherings in the light of COVID19 pandemic until everyone is vaccinated – Facebook post

A comment by Bill Gates during an interview was misrepresented.  Mr Gates, in response to a question, said the U.S. government needs to prioritise and decide which activities to allow should it decide to open up the country after weeks of lockdown. Mass gatherings, he said, is not an option now and might not come back until people are widely vaccinated. 

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Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist, Bill Gates, has been in the news over various issues since the coronavirus pandemic began. 

One of the most recent claims circulating on social media is that Mr Gates stated that there will be no public gatherings until every human in the world has been vaccinated. This post has circulated on many platforms including Facebook, generating a wide range of highly disparaging comments against Mr Gates’ personality. Comments on this post include calls for God’s judgement on Mr Gates. See another similar post here.

These comments are not far off from those related to a long line of posts linking Mr Gates to 5G, coronavirus and the biblical mark of the beast (666). 

The post quoting Mr Gates as saying public gatherings will not return until everyone receives the coronavirus vaccine is, however, misleading.

Verification

Mr Gates has made many appearances in the media in recent times.  In relation to this particular claim, Dubawa found that portions of Mr Gates’ interview on CBS This Morning, with host Anthony Mason in which he called for nationwide social isolation policy to slow the spread of coronavirus, have been misrepresented.

The interview was based largely on Mr Gates’ views on the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and measures already in place to mitigate further spread. During the interview, he called for a nationwide social isolation policy to slow the spread of the pandemic and for the federal government to prioritise testing.

The conversation leading to the generation of these posts stemmed from Mr Gates’ concern about the U.S. government’s response to the pandemic. According to Mr Gates, an issue that his foundation’s experts and the United States government are in discussions about is what opening up will look like even if the government and the agencies at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 are able to get coronavirus cases numbers down.

He suggested that there could be reinfection globally if some activities like mass gatherings are restored unconditionally, that is without regard to the significance of mass vaccination.

The transcript of the show was posted on April 2, 2020. It revealed some parts of the conversation between Mr Gates and Mr Mason. Watch the extended interview here.

After a careful review of the transcript, we were able to identify the portion of the conversation from which the claim being fact-checked was selected by the author of the claim under scrutiny here. Below is an excerpt of that  interview :

Mason: …is there anything that’s really surprised you about what’s happened?

Gates: You know, I thought we would respond a bit faster. …what we’re doing, how we’re having to change the economy here in order to drop the number of cases, it’s, you know, it’s really unprecedented… Even the issue of once you get the cases numbers down… but what does opening up look like? You know, which activities have, like schools, have such benefit and can be done in a way that the risk of transmission is very low?

Mason: Yeah.

Gates: And which activities, like mass gatherings, may be— in a certain sense— more optional. And so until you’re widely vaccinated, those may not come back at all.

Mynorthwest.com published an article on the interview where the author, Nick Bowman, correctly stated what Mr Gates said in the interview by titling it, “Bill Gates- Mass gatherings might not return until we get coronavirus vaccine.” 

Conclusion

Mr Gates has made his views on the ongoing pandemic known on many occasions. In this particular instance, what he said has been misrepresented. Mr Gates said that there may be the need to ensure wide vaccination of people before mass gatherings can be allowed, to avoid reinfection.

Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah warns Ghanaians that a total lockdown and curfew will be imposed soon – news websites

The headlines of the news reports are misleading. The Information Minister has not announced or warned Ghanaians on an impending curfew and total lockdown.

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Messages sent to Dubawa via WhatsApp, and as seen posted on some media such as kubilive.com and being shared on Facebook, state that the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has said that there will soon be an imposition of a total lockdown and curfew in the country. This is present the headlines of articles published by media platforms.

The President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo on Sunday, April 19^th, 2020, announced the lifting of the partial lockdown. The decision he said, was, among others, based on the country’s ability to undertake aggressive contact tracing of infected persons, the enhancement of its capacity to test, the expansion in the numbers of treatment and isolation centres, and a better understanding of the dynamism of the virus. 

Following the lifting of the lockdown, people, as captured on videos, jubilated on the streets without adhering to the laid down social distancing protocols. This has led to a great worry in the country.

After the president’s announcement, the information minister gave an interview to the ‘Kokrokoo’ morning show on Peace FM, where he said:

“If we continue adhering to the other measures, we don’t expect a spike in infections. The 14 other regions where there was no lockdown, we didn’t see any spike, but if we keep going according to the rules, we are sure there will be no spikes. But if we observe that people are being stubborn, not following the directives and other measures and a spike is identified; that is what the President meant that lockdown and curfew will be put in place. This will be more draconian than the partial lockdown in Accra… So if people feel that they are going to go about doing whatever they want in town, they should know that they put us at the risk of lockdown and curfew.”

Verification

But the news platforms cited above gave misleading headlines in their reporting of the minister’s comment. Whereas the headlines state emphatically that the Minister alerted Ghanaians of an upcoming curfew and total lockdown, the content (body) of the stories indicate the fact that the possibility of that happening is subject to certain conditions.

An example is the story from ghpage.com has the headline “COVID-19: A total lockdown and a curfew will be imposed soon- Oppong Nkrumah warns Ghanaians”. 

However, the content of the story states as follows:

“Ghana’s Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has sent out a strong warning to Ghanaians; saying if they flout other measures put in place to stop the spread of the virus and there is a spike of infections, a more stringent measure will be enforced.”

Dubawa contacted the Ministry of Information to ascertain the truth behind the posts. According to the Minister’s office, the claim being circulated is false and actions are being taken to correct the misinformation. 

We also found that what the Minister said was based on a caveat in the President’s speech of April  19.

“Should there be an unexpected outburst in infections within a community, I have put the health workers and the security services, including the Police Service and the Armed 7 Forces, on standby, to co-ordinate a rapid response of human and logistical resources, if necessary, to cordon, impose a curfew, trace, test, and treat infected persons in the affected community,” the President said.

It is important to note that the minister conditioned his statement by saying “IF”, which means that the possibility of a curfew being imposed is based on the ability of Ghanaians to comply with the established protocols. Some news sites did not, however, reflect that caveat in their headlines. 

Popular drug which was alleged to cure coronavirus, COA FS, has been recalled by the Food and Drugs Authority – news websites

True, the FDA issued a release on April 17, 2020, notifying the public that the drug has been recalled over contamination.

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COA FS is a locally manufactured drug in Ghana, which serves as a dietary supplement to support the Human Immune System to help fight a variety of diseases.

The drug was approved by the Food and Drugs Board as an immune booster for general well-being and was officially launched by its manufacturers, the Centre of Awareness Global Peace Mission, on June 11, 2019.  

Although a number of Ghanaians have attested to the drug’s efficacy after usage, the drug gained its utmost prominence among Ghanaians last month when it was alleged to be a cure for the novel COVID-19. 

It is on this premise that Dubawa took to verifying developing claims on the drug. 

Dubawa found that Professor Samuel Ato Duncan, the executive president of the centre, had suggested to the government and research institutions globally to further research the drug to determine its effectiveness against COVID-19 on the basis of its immune-boosting potential.  

Thereafter, stories emerged revealing that Ghana’s leading research institution, the Noguchi Memorial Institute, had responded to this suggestion by the manufacturers of the drug, adding that ‘clinical trials were ongoing on the drug’ to properly test and assess it. This was a process that was ongoing at the Institute, the Food and Drugs Authority, and the Centre for Plant Medicine.

Yet, some news sites had headlines which claimed the Institute had approved the drug to fight coronavirus. 

Dubawa further found that Noguchi Memorial Institute and the Food and Drugs Authority had both refuted the claim that the drug had been approved as a coronavirus cure.

Subsequent to this, a news report flagged to fact-checkers by Facebook as part of its Third-Party Fact-Checking Partnership claims the popular immune booster, COA FS, has been recalled by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).

Verification

Dubawa found that the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA)  issued a press release on April 17, 2020, notifying the public of a recall of COA FS as a result of laboratory analysis of samples of the drug which indicated excessive microbial, mold, yeast and E. Coli contamination.

The FDA indicated in the release that the contamination poses serious health risks such as abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting to consumers and that it can also lead to kidney failure and weakened immune systems. 

Dubawa also spoke to the Head of Communication at Food and Drugs Authority, James Lartey, who confirmed the information. He stated that the contamination is subsequent to the approval of the drug by the FDA, although it appears it has been there for some time. 

Mr Lartey emphasized that the drug itself is a good product and that it is just unfortunate that samples on the market have been contaminated. 

He further stated that the recall does not affect the registration of the COA FS drug by the FDA in any way.

The FDA, in interviews with the media, has defended its claims and explained how it arrived at the conclusion that the drug is contaminated.

Manufacturers Contest FDA’s Claims

The manufacturers of COA FS are however contesting FDA’s claim. In a press statement on April 21, they stated that results of microbial tests conducted on their product by the microbiology department of the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital do not support the FDA’s claims of contaminations. They added that similar tests are being conducted in other independent laboratories.

Conclusion

The COA FS drug, an immune booster, which has recently gained popularity among Ghanaians as a potential cure for Coronavirus, has been recalled by the FDA, following laboratory results which indicated contamination of samples of the drug. The Head of Communication at the FDA, Mr Lartey, has stated that the recalling of the contaminated drugs does not, however, affect the registration of the drug under the FDA.

In their bid to assess how well Ghana fared in the distribution of food to its citizens during the coronavirus-imposed lockdown, some social media users deployed genuine photographs taken out of context. They then concluded that Ghana did poorly than Rwanda, Niger and Nigeria.  

The photos have been taken out of context. The one purported to have been from Rwanda was originally taken in The Gambia and is a photo of food distributed during Ramadan. The other sets of images also are scenes from Senegal and not Niger or Nigeria as claimed by social media users.

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Restrictions on movements were imposed in Ghana on March 31, 2020, to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. The government, in its bid to support the less privileged in the affected communities, began a daily distribution of cooked and packed food. 

Following the commencement of the exercise, some of those who received the daily meals complained of unfair and haphazard distribution of the food packs. This resulted in the comparison of relief items being shared to the needy in other countries to what is being done here in Ghana, with the conclusion that Ghana’s efforts are not “good” enough. 

Following this report, images started being circulated on Facebook by individuals about food being distributed in various countries during the coronavirus-imposed lockdown.

One of these images is claimed to be of Rwanda’s relief items, ready for distribution to those in need and packed in neat stacks. The picture was accompanied by the words: “This is what Paul Kagame of Rwanda presented to each family before the partial lockdown. Visionary leader.” 

This post alone has generated 1502 shares and over 139 likes.  

Another set of images which have gone viral has been shared by other Facebook users with different captions. Whereas some users claim that the images were of food distributed by the government of Niger, others said the same images were about Nigeria. The posts convey the message that while its contemporaries are providing significant support to their citizens during the lockdown, the government of Ghana has been remiss in doing the same. 

VERIFICATION

Dubawa found that all the images are original photos taken out of context.

A reverse image search conducted on the purported  Rwanda relief items revealed that the picture is actually of food distribution to the needy in the Gambia and not in Rwanda. The picture had been in existence even before the outbreak of the COVID-19, weeks before declarations of lockdowns in sub-Saharan Africa. 

The items in the picture were distributed in the month of Ramadan by Iman Jaiteh Charitable Foundation to help the needy in villages, schools and orphans in 2019 as seen in this feature here. 

Niger or Nigeria?

The other sets of photos are neither from Niger nor from Nigeria. 

Our search revealed that the lead person in the photo is Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal. According to our findings, the bags of rice in the photo are of the first batch of emergency food aid for Senegal during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The photo and other related images were posted on the official verified twitter page of the Senegalese President on April 11th 2020. 

Other posts related to the first tweet revealed a video showing the bags being rounded up with the caption “Together and united to face the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic #COVID19sn,” proving the affiliation of the photos to Senegal and not Niger or Nigeria.

“I received the first batch of food today as part of the emergency food aid. It is also an opportunity to salute the responsible behaviour of the Senegalese in the face of the pandemic. Compliance with the measures to support Gvmt’s efforts in the fight against #covid19,” President Macky Sall said in the twitter post.

The news of that exercise was carried by the Senegalese media as seen here.

Conclusion

Governments are tackling the effects of COVID-19 pandemic in different ways. Some are providing cooked food for their citizens, some are giving cash to citizens while others are distributing uncooked food items. This is based on their individual ability and plans put in place by the various countries. It is important to note that false claims pertaining to which country is doing better than the others should be avoided, to prevent the incitement of anger and possibly violence.

Let’s use traditional medicine to cure COVID-19 because China used just ‘SOBOLO’ to cure theirs.

The claim is inaccurate. The hibiscus flower has not been proven or approved as a singular cure for the coronavirus and China has not ‘cured’ the virus by using the plant. The articles cited in the viral video did not name hibiscus (sobolo) as a coronavirus cure.

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A drink or tea made from hibiscus flower, known in Ghana as sobolo and in Nigeria as sobo/zobo, according to a viral video, has been used by China to cure the novel coronavirus, Covid-19. 

The video, which we also found on One Ghana TV via Facebook showed the Executive Director for Soul Health and Wellness Center, Nana Okogyedom Ntim-Barimah, popularly known as Oheneba, in an interview with Kofi Adomah Nwanwani of Kofi TV. 

The video was captioned “Lets use traditional medicine to cure COVID-19, because China used just ‘SOBOLO’ to cure theirs.”

In the interview, Nana Ntim-Barimah claimed the Chinese used ‘sobolo’ to cure the COVID-19 and called on Ghanaians to do the same.  

“These people are deceiving us. They are deceiving us seriously because they have made up their minds to use us as their market…Do you know sobolo? It is the hibiscus flower that is called Sobolo. The Chinese are using it to treat coronavirus and we are sitting here waiting for WHO to say a medicine has been found. May God have mercy on Africans,” Nana Ntim-Berimah said.

The video has been shared over 8500 times on One Ghana TV alone and has 104,475 views on YouTube.

In the video, Nana Ntim-Berimah refers to two articles which he suggests have information on the use of the flower as a cure for the coronavirus in China. Dubawa checked this claim.

Verification

There is widespread use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) by China to treat Covid-19.  Information available indicates that TCMs are highly valued by the Chinese government and have been recommended by its health ministry to be used together with conventional medicine in the treatment of Covid-19. 

On 17 February, the National Health Commission of China (NHC) announced that 85.20% of the 60,107 confirmed cases at the time had been treated with TCM.

A YouTube live news post by CGTN also showed how Chinese frontline doctors in China are using TCM to fight the coronavirus pandemic.  According to this video, TCM has proven to be effective in the treatment of Covid-19 cases in China and has also been found effective when complemented with western medicine. The video also states that 90.6% of COVID-19 patients have been given TCM treatment in Hubei. 

Sequel to this, advocates of traditional medicines and herbs have called on the government of Ghana to follow the Chinese example and consider using some traditional medicines in the treatment of patients.

Delving into the Claim

Two articles were mentioned and referred to by Nana Ntim-Berimah in the video which he credits for the information on hibiscus as effective cure for coronavirus in Ghana, as it has been in the case of China.

The first one, “Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment of Patients Infected with 2019-New Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2): A Review and Perspective” published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences discusses the beneficial effects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) use in the treatment of the 2019-nCov as, according to the study, more than 85% of infected people in China are being treated with TCM.  

Dubawa found that the article does not mention that the hibiscus flower has been used for the treatment of Covid-19 in China. In fact, hibiscus is not mentioned in the article at all.

The article does, however, note that some TCMs have been used in treating Covid-19 patients in a protocol that involves clinical trials to ascertain their effectiveness.

What is important to note here is that these TCMs are composites of various herbs and tackle various symptoms which may be related to covid-19. For instance, the Yu Ping Feng San TCM formula contains Astragali radix (Astragalus root), Astragalus membranaceus( Astragalus flower), Atractylodes macrocephala, and Saposhnikoviae Radix which helps in protecting against external pathogens and have antiviral, anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory effects.  

Furthermore, different TCMs are stated to be used for different conditions. For instance, for fatigue and fever, TCM recommended by the 6^Th edition Guidelines of Diagnosis and Treatment for COVID-19 is Lian Hua Qing Wen Capsule, Shu Feng Jie Du Capsule, and Jin Hua Qing Gan Capsule. This differs from Shen Fu Injection which could inhibit the inflammation of the lungs. 

No singular herb or medication was identified to cure Covid-19.

The article cautions that most of the clinical studies to test the efficacy of TCMs are poorly designed and that the results could lead to potential biases in evaluating the effectiveness of TCM treatment. It further states that herbs used in TCM may mimic, or magnify, or counter the effects of conventional medicines, therefore calling for further evaluation of the safety of TCM. 

The second article, High antiviral effects of hibiscus tea extract on the H5 subtypes of low and highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses, was published in May 2016 and has nothing to do with the novel coronavirus. The study was conducted by a group of scientists in Japan, Vietnam and Thailand. 

In fact, the article talks of the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) and how some selected tea extracts, including the hibiscus tea, had effects on the H5N1 HPAIV. 

The abstract of the article also shows that Nana Ntim-Barimah left out the part that said the herbs were screened against the H5N1 HPAIV in vitro.  

According to information from the CDC, the H5N1 HPAIV is a virus that mainly occurs in birds and was first detected in humans in 1997 during a poultry outbreak in Hong Kong. Symptoms of H5N1 in humans may include fever (often high fever, > 38°C) and malaise, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches. Other early symptoms may also include abdominal pain, chest pain and diarrhea. They further state that the infection may progress quickly to severe respiratory illness (for example, difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath, pneumonia, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) and neurologic changes (altered mental status or seizures).

Although symptoms of the H5N1 virus are similar to the novel coronavirus, they are not the same virus. Furthermore, the study was not conducted on the novel coronavirus, thus making the reference to coronavirus as proof of its efficacy in curing covid-19 baseless.

Upon further attention to the video, some disparities are noticed. For instance, Nana Ntim-Berimah speaks about boosting the immune system as a way to fight the virus.  This, he links to the use of the hibiscus tea, brewed together with other spices like cloves and ginger among others. In this regard, it seems he is lending credence to the importance of a strong immune system in fighting the coronavirus. This does not point directly and solely to “sobolo” as a cure to coronavirus.

Dubawa’s efforts to contact Nana Ntim-Berimah for comments have been unsuccessful till now. We will, however, update this article when we eventually get through to him.

Could the hibiscus tea be the Covid-19 Cure?

Dubawa found that although hibiscus tea was not explicitly mentioned in the first article referred to by Nana Ntim-Berimah as a Covid-19 cure, it may be useful in treating viral infections as seen in the second article. 

Based on the similarities between the symptoms of the two pathogens, correlations can be established on the strength of another study conducted. According to this study, the hibiscus extract (Hibiscus L. Sabdariffa) inhibited viral replication and the expression of viral antigens and genes. The hibiscus tea showed the most notable antiviral effects against both H5 HPAIV and Low pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAIV). The plant is therefore recommended as a potent anti-influenza drug. 

Conclusion

No specific treatment has been identified as cure for COVID-19. Indeed, alternative medicine is being used by countries like China in their fight against the virus and may be a useful venture for other countries to follow. According to information from China, TCM is proving successful in COVID-19 treatment. However, these TCMs are being subjected to clinical trials and outcomes are being awaited.

Furthermore, WHO, the organisation at the forefront of information regarding the pandemic, has not recommended any specific medicines to treat or cure COVID-19. 

Ghana Health Service announces 100 per cent Covid-19 recovery rate – adepanews.com

The Ghana Health Service says it has NOT reported a 100 per cent recovery rate among confirmed cases of coronavirus in Ghana.

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Worldwide, the coronavirus pandemic has hit very hard. According to World Health Organisation data, the global cases confirmed so far are 1 282 931 with 72 774 confirmed deaths.

On March 28, 2020, adepanews.com reported that the Ghana Health Service announced a 100 per cent recovery rate among patients that were infected by the disease in the country.

With the headline “COVID-19: Ghana health Service announces 100% recovery rate”, the report indicated that the Ghana Health Service had announced that “the recovering rate of the infected persons has doubled and its now mentioned 100% increase.”

Dubawa checked and found the claim made by the news outlet to be false.

Verification

To ascertain the truth behind the claim on the recovery rate of infected persons in Ghana, Dubawa spoke to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Health Service,  Jacob Andoh. 

According to Mr Andoh, the news is false as no such information was ever released by the Ghana Health Service. 

“Any figure that comes out and cannot be found on our website is false. Please disregard it. We entreat everybody to cross-check any data or information from our website,” Mr Andoh said.

Further checks on the Ghana Health service website revealed that no such statement of Ghana recording a 100 per cent recovery rate has been made concerning the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.  

As of March 28, 2020, when adepanews.com reported the claim, information available on the Ghana Health Service Covid19 dedicated website indicated that a total of 141 cases had been confirmed nationwide. The website further stated that two people had recovered and had been discharged, while 14 were being managed at home. At the time, four deaths had been recorded. Additionally, 87 were reported to be responding well to treatment and two were in critical condition. 

Current Covid-19 Situation In Ghana

According to Ghana Health Service, Ghana currently has a total of 287 confirmed cases as of April 7, 2020.  Of the total number recorded, three have fully recovered, 49 have been discharged and are undergoing home management. A total of 228 have been reported to be well and responding to treatment while two are moderately ill. Five deaths have been reported in the country so far, all having been identified to have had underlying chronic medical conditions prior to COVID-19 infection.

Conclusion

The Ghana Health Service did not say the recovery rate of Ghanaians with confirmed cases of coronavirus is 100 per cent. The information published by adepanews,com is, therefore, false. 

Obama warns Africans against vaccines from America and Europe – Instagram user

Mr Obama’s office says the former president has not made any statements on coronavirus vaccines. Also, there is no factual evidence of former US President Obama cautioning Africans to resist the testing of vaccines. Aside from viral social media messages, no reputable media outlet, both international and national, have reported the claim. 

Full text:

COVID-19, like other pandemics, has fueled a number of conspiracy theories concerning its cause, treatment and a lot more. One of such theories is a message going viral on WhatsApp linked to an Instagram post that states that former US president, Barack Obama, is ‘asking Africans not to accept the vaccines that will come from America and Europe’. The post, which has a photo of Obama in tears, continues with an alleged warning from Obama which reads: 

“I’ll be an accomplice if I don’t denounce this evil act white people want to do to Africans, first of all I was born in America but I’m African blood, I’m not going to allow white people to kill Africans with their toxic vaccines, I ask Africans to be smart, and to ensure that coronavirus vaccines do not enter African territories, there is a Machiavellian plan they invent, saying we come to help Africans, or that they will come to kill you, I will let the message be shared everywhere, to awaken African minds so that the vaccines do not arrive in Africa” 

Verification

Dubawa followed the WhatsApp link to Instagram. Instagram showed that the post was made three days ago, but has been edited 12 hours ago (as at 9.05pm GMT on 3 April 2020) with a new caption in French that reads “Moi Joel Wembo je serai comme @barackobama, je le crois’ which translates as “I, Joel Wembo, I will be like Barack Obama, I believe it’’. 

However, all 1,783 user comments generated by the post are reactions to the initial caption and message circulating on WhatsApp. Although some of the comments reacted with belief in the claim, most dismissed it as fake news, while others indicated that the claim cannot be found anywhere on the Internet.

The coronavirus vaccine debates…

Dubawa further traced the widespread public discourse on the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa, which has incited a lot of dissatisfaction and resistance from some Internet users. We found that the discourse originated from a recent suggestion of the testing of a potential COVID-19 vaccine (BCG tuberculosis vaccine) in Africa to prove its efficacy, by two French doctors.

The video shows the two doctors Jean-Paul Mira, Head of Resuscitation Department at Cochin Hospital and Camille Locht, Head of Research at Inserm Health Research Group (IHRG), in a debate on TV Channel LCI. In the video, Africa was suggested to parallel the studies to be conducted in other countries, since Africans were highly exposed to the virus under the circumstances with ‘no masks, no treatments and no resuscitations’ to protect themselves from the virus. 

According to a BBC publication on 3 April 2020, IHRG has clarified in a statement that the suggestion of testing the vaccine in Africa has been misinterpreted, given that already, clinical trials for the efficacy of the BCG vaccine is about to be launched in Europe and Australia. This is corroborated by information on the IHRG website which indicates that researchers have already launched clinical trials in the Netherlands and Australia.

IHRG, however, added that Africa must be part of the research regarding the coronavirus “because the pandemic is global.”

Did Obama caution Africans against vaccines?

Mr Obama’s office said the statement is not from the former president. 

“President Obama did not say this – and hasn’t made any statements about coronavirus vaccines. There isn’t a coronavirus vaccine yet, of course, and regardless, he is pro-vaccination,” said Ms Katie Hill from Mr Obama’s office.

Additionally, considering the newsworthiness of the claim, one would expect that international media would carry the story had Mr Obama waded into the discussion on vaccines. However, no international mainstream news portals, including the CNN and the BBC, have. Ghanaian mainstream media have also not mentioned anything on the claim attributed to Obama. 

To further verify, Dubawa searched Mr Obama’s verified social media handles on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and found no remarks from the former US President on vaccines. His last posts on Facebook and Twitter on 1 April 2020 were to implore Americans to fill out forms on Census Day. His last post on Instagram, on 28 March 2020, was a tribute to the late Reverend Joseph Lowery.  

Dubawa has therefore determined that there is no factual evidence that former President Obama ever counselled Africans to resist purported testing of vaccines from Europe and America, as reported in an Instagram Post.

Conclusion

There is no factual evidence that Mr Obama ever cautioned Africans to resist being used for testing any vaccines. The viral post attributed to the former American president is false.