COVID FAKE NEWS

RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS DEATH CLAIMS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

■ Stick to trusted news, websites, Health Minister advises public ■ Only one coronavirus-related border quarantine death recorded in Fiji so far

Misinformation on social media about COVID-19 has yet again reared its ugly head, this time with word spreading that Fiji has confirmed a second border quarantine death.

This is not true, said Minister for Health and Medical Services, Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete, during an interview yesterday.

Dr Waqainabete said it was important that Fijians looked at trusted news sources. This included the Government and Ministry of Health Facebook pages online.

“So far, we only have one COVID-19 border quarantine death and people who spread fake news do not show leadership and responsibility,” he said.

The COVID-19 border quarantine death was a 66-year-old man, who returned on a repatriation flight from India on July 1.

Dr Waqainabete said it was

vital that given the current situation, people were not burdened with fake news. “People need to understand that we are all in this together in these challenging times,” he said.

“We need to show leadership and responsibility, everyone needs to do it.”

“All along, we have been transparent and we have been honest, and this is something that not only us, but also other people, have said to us in the way that this has been handled and we need to be able to trust reliable sources.”

Although there are no cases of community transmission, he said the restrictions in place were to make people realise the new normal that we now live in.

He said this was also an opportunity for people to stay abreast of healthy practices.

Furthermore, he said the four positive cases from India, who were identified to have had significant surgical treatment, were recovering well in quarantine.