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Coronavirus Prediction Hoax And Its Cognitive Impacts

Coronavirus Prediction Hoax And Its Cognitive Impacts

The Coronavirus that appeared in the Wuhan, China in December is now everywhere in the world. It’s is hard to beat the Coronavirus Prediction Hoax as we know there are lots of misinformation around the globe. In recent weeks, there are plenty of myths and rumors about the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Well, one of the trending and most searched is Sylvia Browne who claimed to be psychic. She wrote a book name End of The Days where she said illness like Pneumonia will spread.

On the other hand, the misinformation about Coronavirus widely varies in social media. In particular, social media has ranged widely from measured caution to unmitigated panic. Global stocks have plummeted, although the cases in China is decreasing, the other parts of the world including Europe and America is widely affected by the virus.

Concerning the Coronavirus prediction hoax, the expert in epidemiology at Ryerson University said:

It is important to note that we need to better understand how easily the virus can spread from person-to-person in order to better assess the risk posed to the public and globally.

Despite expert suggestions, the people around the globe are not stopping to circulating a hoax about the COVID-19 virus. The fact that the virus originated in China seems to have intensified the risk of spreading misinformation. As a consequence, it has led to a deep sense of fear and anxiety in which misinformation will grow.

Here are the most common myths and theories that have circulated after the outbreak of the pandemic disease (Coronavirus), and why such misinformation continues to spread during a public health crisis.

There is a coronavirus vaccine or treatment that the Government doesn’t want to disclose

A viral Facebook post circulating from January 22nd includes a screengrab of a patent issued by the CDC for what is supposed to be a coronavirus vaccine. Additionally, it indicated that the virus was created by the government to benefit from the vaccine through pharmaceutical firms.

However, this is just a hoax as science has justified the fact that Coronavirus is completely new for the human. So, it is impossible to assume that the vaccine or treatment of the virus was already discovered before the disease broke out as a pandemic.

Later it was confirmed that the screengrab patent was actually related to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). In addition, SARS is another type of Coronavirus which was also originated from China, killing thousands of people. However, the news about the funds being released for finding out the vaccine of Nobel Coronavirus has certainly given hope for people.

Chinese People Spread Coronavirus By Eating Bat

To some extent, this hoax has some sense; however, being specific about its outbreak i.e. by eating Bat isn’t convincing. It’s is true that the Covid-19 virus was originated form animals, especially from mammals but research suggests that the Covid-19 virus is Zoonotic virus.

In particular, Zoonotic virus is the type of virus that spreads from non-human animals (usually vertebrates) to humans. Also, the current theory about the outbreak of the virus is that it was originated from a live animal market in Wuhan.

Myth: Chinese People Spread Coronavirus By Eating Bat
Myth: Chinese People Spread Coronavirus By Eating Bat
Source: Shortpedia

Of course, people in some parts of china eat small mammals like bats. The speculation was massive because there was a belief that the previous pandemic disease SARS was originated from Bats. In contrast, the researchers found out that the virus was actually passed to humans via palm civets, a type of large cat.

More to the point, there is no proof that consuming bats was the cause of the coronavirus outbreak; officials have confirmed that several people who tested COVID-19 positively had no contact with live animals. Ruling out the hoax, the research has some evidence that snakes may have been the main cause of infection.

Coronavirus Can Be Killed By Hand Dryers

As far as we are aware, coronavirus transmits by contact with contaminated objects or surfaces. Also, this is the reason why governments are urging people to wash their hand time and again. China’s social media was brimming with suggestions that using a hand dryer for 30 seconds can fend off coronavirus.

Coronavirus Can Be Killed By Hand Dryers
Coronavirus Can Be Killed By Hand Dryers
Source: Dailymail

As per the WHO, the hoax about using the hand dryers is nonsense. In the official website of WHO, responding to this hoax, they wrote:

No. Hand dryers are not effective in killing the 2019-nCoV. To protect yourself against the new coronavirus, you should frequently clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Once your hands are cleaned, you should dry them thoroughly by using paper towels or a warm air dryer.

What’s effective is thoroughly washing your hands with soap and water and/or using a hand sanitizer. In addition, drying your hands with a paper towel or using a hand dryer can be helpful.

Coronavirus Is A Bio-Weapon For Up-Coming World War

It makes sense, given the recent history of strained diplomatic ties between countries, some may suspect that coronavirus was covertly developed in a laboratory. Especially, people believed that it is part of a prolonged campaign to disrupt the opposing countries.

Coronavirus Is A Bio-Weapon For Up-Coming World War 
Coronavirus Is A Bio-Weapon For Up-Coming World War 
Source: World Economic Forum

The United States senator. Tom Cotton, in an exclusive interview of with Fox News, said:

We don’t know where it originated, and we have to get to the bottom of that,” he added, “We also know that just a few miles away from that food market is China’s only biosafety level 4 super laboratory that researches human infectious diseases.

On the other hand, British Tabloid, the Daily Mail also published a story on the existence of this lab. Particularly, it heavily implied that it was responsible for the spread of the virus.

The Outbreak was Predicted By The Dean Koontz

According to the online conspiracy theory, in 1981, an American author, Dean Koontz, predicated Coronavirus. Referencing the killer virus “Wuhan-400”, his novel The Eyes of Darkness has a prediction about the outbreak of the virus in the Chinese city where Covid-19 would emerge.

Dean Koontz predicted COVID-19
Dean Koontz predicted COVID-19
Source:upworthy

Although the prediction about the virus exactly matches the current situation, the similarities end after referencing his prediction. In particular, the Wuhan-400 is described as having a “kill‑rate” of 100%, developed in labs outside the city as the “perfect” biological weapon.

Silviya Brown Also Predicted the Pandemic Virus, COVID-19

Sylvia Browne, a self-described psychic, wrote about the outbreak of the deadly virus in 2008 on her novel “End of Days.” After the twelve-year, coronavirus epidemic is all around the world. So, we cannot completely deny her prediction.

Silviya Brown Also Predicted the Pandemic Virus, COVID-19
Silviya Brown Also Predicted the Pandemic Virus, COVID-19 Source: News18

In page 312 of End of Days she wrote:

In around 2020 a severe pneumonia-like illness will spread throughout the globe, attacking the lungs and the bronchial tubes and resisting all known treatments. Almost more baffling than the illness itself will be the fact that it will suddenly vanish as quickly as it arrived, attack again ten years later, and then disappear completely.

The similarities end here: As she never mentioned the name of the virus as Coronavirus (COVID-19). Moreover, her argument does not relate to today’s situation. In addition, she said that the disease would vanish as soon as it outbreaks.

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About the author

Asbin Ghimire

Asbin Ghimire an IT professional who is an avid writer. He currently works as an author of Wikye.com. He has experience over three years working as a content writer and content marketer. His contents have a wide range of audiences, accumulating thousands of viewers. He believes writing is a powerful technique to express yourself and probably only the reason why he is into writing.

Apart from writing, he enjoys sports and traveling. Going hiking and trekking has been his best hobby for a long. In his spare time, he loves cooking, jamming, and reading.

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