Ignore fake Covid-19 news and trust the experts

One of the most debilitating effects of contracting the coronavirus – for a nation, that is – is the fake news fever it generates.

Hardly had the first case of the virus in South Africa been confirmed than the rumour mills of social media, which are highly effective vectors of infectious untruth, went into overdrive.

Yet, it is easy to understand why so many people are not only concerned, they are on the verge of panic. That’s because nobody – not even medical experts across the globe – have any real idea of how it is going to develop.

Will it be even more deadly than the Spanish flu pandemic of a century ago, which killed millions? Or will it be no more than a season irritant infection, disappearing eventually?

The World Health Organisation (WHO), which should be expert on this sort of situation, says it is concerned that many countries aren’t taking the crisis seriously enough. On the other hand, more people die every month in this country from Aids and Aids-related infections alone than the latest coronavirus outbreak has killed across the globe.

The Saturday Citizen agrees with Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize and President Cyril Ramaphosa that people should not panic. This is one of the occasions where people have to trust that the medical authorities know what they are doing.

How government manages what could become a major national crisis will give a good indication as to the state of the country’s health system – and an accurate portent of the future of schemes like National Health Insurance (NHI).

With the coronavirus outbreak, there is no place for the deflecting politicians to hide. No one can, this time anyway, use the hoary old chestnut of apartheid to cover up for failure.

SA has access to all the latest global information and should be prepared.

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