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Several social media posts are doing the rounds claiming that a runny nose and sputum secretion are not symptoms of the novel coronavirus. The claim contradicts several health advisories issued by prominent and reliable health watchdogs.
In a post shared on Facebook, a user claims to provide new information about the novel coronavirus outbreak from a "Dr. Khin Maung U", a medical expert "with a master's degree, and works in Shenzhen Hospital."
"If you have a runny nose and sputum when you have a cold, you cannot be a new type of coronavirus pneumonia, because coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough without runny nose. That is the simplest way to identify," the post reads. It further mentions possible home remedies for the virus such as "eat more ginger garlic".
Screenshot of the misleading social media post on Coronavirus.
The claims were found to be false and misleading. News agency AFP also conducted searches for the doctor named in the social media posts but it was unable to find a medical expert with the same name. It also found no "Shenzhen Hospital" as mentioned in the post.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough. Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea."
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