AUTHORITIES have urged citizens to be vigilant and not fall victim to coronavirus-related scams.
This comes amid numerous social media messages doing the rounds which, apart from being false news, can easily instill a sense of fear.
The latest fake message to be debunked is a voice note from a person who claims to be Diana Hardie, head of virology at Cape Town’s Groote Schuur Hospital.
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The text message accompanying the voice note says the message includes Hardie’s latest coronavirus data and warns that it does not predict a pretty short-term scenario..
The national Department of Health (DoH) has confirmed that the message did not emanate from Groote Schuur’s virology department and the message ‘does not represent the views or policies of the WCG: Health’.
Another Covid-19 claim, suggesting landlords will not be able to charge rent for the next 90 days, is not true.
‘The government has not released a communication to this effect and any documents circulating about this are fake,’ said the DoH.
Claims of a vaccine having been developed are also not true as there is currently no vaccine available.
The department also warns people not to hand over money to anyone claiming it is contaminated with Covid-19.
The public is urged to seek information from verified sources.
To stay up-to-date with verified coronavirus information, save the Covid-19 Connect WhatsApp service to your phone.
Add the number 060 0123456 to your phone’s contact list, send ‘Hi’ in a WhatsApp message and all official coronavirus-related information will be at your fingertips.
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