WhatsApp message alleging Covid-19 treatment protocols changed after patient autopsy untrue: MOH

SINGAPORE - A message that has been circulating on messaging app Whatsapp claiming that Covid-19 treatment protocols here have changed following a coronavirus patient autopsy is untrue, said the Health Ministry (MOH) on Monday (July 7).

The message makes the false claim that following an autopsy, the authorities here discovered that Covid-19 is "a bacterium that has been exposed to radiation and causes human death by coagulation in the blood".

According to the message, MOH "immediately changed" the treatment protocol for Covid-19 patients here, giving them aspirin instead - another false claim.

Other untrue statements in the message include that local doctors had called the disease "a global trick" and that antibiotics and anticoagulants could be used to treat the disease.

The message further claimed that local scientists had said ventilators and treatment in the Intensive Care Unit were unnecessary for Covid-19 patients and that those with the disease should take paracetamol or aspirin instead.

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Some ST readers inquired whether the content of the message, which claimed to be from MOH, was legitimate.

The Ministry said on Monday that the message contains false information about the effects and causes of Covid-19 that is not borne out by current evidence.

It added that the autopsy in question had not taken place.

MOH also noted that an earlier version of the viral message, which mentioned Russia instead of Singapore, had been exposed as untrue.

"We urge the public not to spread unsubstantiated information which may cause public alarm," said MOH, adding that members of the public may visit the MOH website for more information on the Covid-19 situation.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.