It appears that the mania surrounding Coronavirus shows no signs of relenting, now the French government has been forced to warn citizens that cocaine does not cure coronavirus after false claims were circulated on social media. It comes as a number of false claims regarding the illness have been shares on social media.
The French Ministry of Social Affairs and Health tweeted: “No, cocaine does NOT protect against Covid-19.
“It is an addictive drug that causes serious side effects and is harmful to people’s health.”
Its warning over cocaine appears to be in response to a series of viral memes showing doctored news headlines suggesting the class A drug “kills coronavirus”. The mock-up still from a fake “breaking news” broadcast , but it seems to have fooled some people.
Incubation
People infected with coronavirus could be symptom-free for five days, experts have said.
Researchers estimated the average incubation period of Covid-19 to be 5.1 days.
The experts found that almost all (97.5%) of those who develop symptoms appeared to do so within 11.5 days of infection.
Coronaviruses in humans that cause common colds have average incubation periods of around three days.
Experts, led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US, studied 181 cases of people confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness Covid-19.
The researchers conducted an analysis of news reports, public health reports, and press releases which included information on likely dates of exposure and when symptoms started.
Most of the cases were linked to Wuhan, the city in China at the centre of the outbreak, and the surrounding Hubei province.
The authors conclude that current “self-isolation” time frames adopted by health bodies – including the NHS – are “reasonable”.
Self-isolation
– What does self-isolating actually mean?
If you are asked to self-isolate, this means you should stay at home, not go to work or school or visit public places and not use public transport or taxis.
– What about other people in my house?
If you live with other people, you should separate yourself from them and try not to be in the same room as them at the same time.
You should also think about a bathroom rota if a separate bathroom is not available, with the isolated person using the facilities last before thoroughly cleaning the bathroom.
You should not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, bedding or other items with other people in your home.
If you live in shared accommodation such as university halls of residence, you should only use communal kitchens, bathrooms and living areas when necessary and take meals back to your room to eat.
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