Don’t listen to fake news or share it. You’re not helping

ASIDE from washing your hands and obeying other advice such as social distancing, one of the best things any of us can do right now is to stop listening and, worse, spreading fake news.

As the State battles to control the COVID-19 outbreak – and it is doing a good job – there is very understandably a lot of very anxious people out there. Internet trolls and moronic pranksters are doing their level best to spark full scale panic and are undoing some of the good work being done by those on the front line.

When it comes to keeping abreast of the developing situation, anonymous messages appearing on Facebook or WhatsApp are worthless.

Even those that appear genuine like fake Twitter messages from the Taoiseach should not be trusted when it comes to stories that food is running out or the army are taking to the streets.

If you are in even the remotest doubt, check the relevant official website or the mainstream media, who will post news of any important developments whenever they are issued.

Such announcements will always come from a source like the Taoiseach; Tánaiste; Health Minister or a senior HSE figure like Dr Tony Holohan.

Any message that starts ‘ A friend was in a meeting today and heard that...’ or something like it should be ignored.

For example, do not let a malevolent online troll spur you into panic buying. The only risk to the food supply is caused by panic buying; don’t be a part of it.

This is all about saving our elderly and vulnerable.

By panic buying, you’re contributing to scenes like the dreadful photos of clearly frightened older people staring at empty shelves because they hadn’t been able to get past the greedy hordes.

Also, in no circumstances take any medical advice from social media; there were several fake message circulating about various medicines and their effectiveness. When it comes to medicines, listen to the HSE, your GP and the health services. They know what they are doing.

ALL businesses are under extreme strain many. The worst-impacted are those who have closed their doors, but supermarkets and food shops are coming under different pressure.

While there’s no threat to food supply – provided people listen to official advice and don’t panic buy – supermarkets are at the frontline of the crisis. Even in countries such as Italy and Spain, which have complete or near total lock-downs, essential sectors including supermarkets, pharmacies and petrol stations remain open. This places stress on staffing levels.

To help the sector function as normally as possible and ease the financial burden of people whose workplace is closed, the idea of ‘staff redeployment’ is emerging. Tralee Chamber Alliance is promoting this. It would see, where possible, temporarily laid-off workers taking shortterm roles in ‘essential sectors’: “All local supermarkets and our partners in Retail Excellence have asked us to put a call out to the tourism, hospitality and non-essential retail sector who may...be facing temporary layoffs at this time,” said the Chamber Alliance. “If your company is in a position to redeploy staff, or you know someone willing to take up a short-term role, please call in-store and ask to speak with their HR Managers,” said the Chamber in a statement on Monday.