Misinformation about treating coronavirus is rife, some of it harmful speaks to the health experts

LISA SALMON

THE biggest global health crisis for decades was bound to bring about swathes of health advice, but how do you know what’s reliable and accurate? It isn’t always easy – especially when certain political leaders are suggesting potentially deadly ideas like injecting disinfectant as potential remedies.

Researchers say ‘inoculating’ the public against such harmful misinformation has never been more pressing, and they’ve conducted a large international study to assess how much wrong advice surrounding Covid-19 food and eating practices is actually believed.

The study, launched shortly after the start of lockdown, by University College London (UCL) and The Health Sciences Academy (HSA), found potentially harmful misconceptions about nutrition and Covid-19, including nearly half (43%) of the 3,781 respondents wrongly believing it’s safe to eat fruit and vegetables washed with soap or diluted bleach, and a small minority (3.3%) even dangerously thinking gargling with bleach will kill the virus.

Study co-author Alex Ruani, chief science educator at the HSA and a UCL doctoral researcher, says: “It deeply worries me that potentially harmful dietary practices are being adopted based on widespread advice that is erroneous, pulled out of context, or silent about objective health risks. And enough is enough. We must do something about this.

“Encouragingly, 96% of the study participants believed that to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection, they should avoid direct contact with people delivering groceries or packages, and wash hands thoroughly after bringing in packages or grocery deliveries.

“Most people understand the importance of social distancing,” stresses study co-author Professor Michael Reiss of the UCL Institute of Education. “However, there are important misunderstandings about the implications of food and eating practices. Governments can help allay fears and reduce Covid-19 transmission by promoting clear public health messages about food.”

MORE than a fifth (21%) of people questioned wrongly believed drinking water flushes all COVID-19 viral particles into the oesophagus and then into the stomach, where they think they’re completely disintegrated by gastric acid. Another 22% were unsure whether this was true or not. In addition, 25% of people wrongly believed keeping your mouth and throat moist could stop coronavirus, incorrectly assuming saliva can encapsulate and deactivate the COVID-19 virus.

Alex Ruani

3 BLEACH IS NO REMEDY

A SMALL minority of people (3.3%) wrongly believed you can protect yourself from the novel coronavirus by gargling bleach, and a further 7.5% were

Governments can help allay fears and reduce Covid-19 transmission by promoting clear public health messages about food and eating Professor Michael Reiss, right, UCL Institute of Education