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Baseless speculations about coronavirus gripped Pakistan and other countries: Report
January 31, 2020
ISLAMABAD, Jan. 31 (INP): At the critical time when the best efforts are afoot to defeat Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), speculations and panic have gone on a rampage, emerging as more formidable threats than its breakneck sprawl and fatality rate around the world, including Pakistan, says a report carried by Gwadar Pro App on Friday.
With declaration of global health emergency against the Coronavirus, the world is in dire need to quell series of mythical rumors and panic reigning worldwide. Principally speaking, it is the dissemination of prank information that plays havoc.
Since misleading hoaxes have being gripping people - especially students of various countries including Pakistan - grave sense of panic has run deep.
It is highly commendable that first demonstration of global response has been manifested by World Health Organization(WHO) by declaring a global emergency due to coronavirus outbreak.
Ridiculous rumours and panic are suspected to be bedeviling people by those forces which discredit CPEC and BRI, China’s signature projects that uphold the supremacy of globalization and promise to unleash era of shared destiny.
With regard to case study of some groups of Pakistani students studying in Wuhan, epic center of the lethal virus, panic and hearsays are on rise. Here are 6 misleading information to be tackle with.
First, a rubbish rumour which is making the rounds is that once someone contracts Coronavirus, death looms large.
Later it has been proved that fatality rate ranges between only 2-3%. Prof. Dr. Sazaly Abu Bakar, Director of the Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC) at the University of Malaya, said unlike SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), the 2019-nCoV had a case fatality ratio (CFR) of only about 3%, thus giving patients a high chance of recovery.
WHO estimated that SARS’ CFR ranged from 0-50%, depending on the age group affected, with an overall estimate case fatality ratio of 14-15%, while the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome’s (MERS-CoV) CFR stood at 35%.
Second, some of the speculations are engulfing people with the bizarre theory that Coranavirus outbreak is a result of accidental leakage of biological weapons research being conducted secretly at a virology institute in Wuhan.
Experts debunked the hypothesis. “Based on the virus genome and properties there is no indication whatsoever that it was an engineered virus,” said Richard Ebright, a professor of chemical biology at Rutgers University.
Next, soon after the coronavirus outbreak, someone posted a viral image stating that the novel Coronavirus emerging in China is already patented by Pirbright Institute in Surrey, England in 2015 for developing a version of coronavirus for curing respiratory infections and diseases.
Conspiracy theorists termed it a planned eruption for the financial gains of pharma companies engaged with coronavirus vaccination.
Fourth, in Pakistan and globally, video of bat soup set the internet ablaze. The video clip displaying a woman’s eating bat gave rise to theory that coronavirus reached humans due to the eating habits of the Chinese. Later it is proved that video was filed in Palau in western Pacific Ocean instead of Wuhan three years ago.
Fifth, one rumor that gripped the stranded foreigners including Pakistanis was that China had been using dilly-dally tactics to allow countries to fly their citizen to their homelands.
This fueled immense panic. Finally fear receded and rumor wound down after the US and Japan airlifted around 400 their nationals - mostly diplomats and businesspersons - from Wuhan. However, none of students from any country has been evacuated from China so far.
Sixth, tendency of Coronavirus as airborne disease was another rumor that freaked out already panic-stricken students. They had to lock down their windows and did not dare going out of their hostel rooms even in their universities’ vicinities for many days, scaring to contract virus through air. Later information came that it was just a hoax. Looking into Pakistani students’ case, it comes to light that creepy panic is the outcome of rampant speculations. Although there might be many challenges about smooth flow of food supplies, availability of money after banks’ closure, evacuation possibilities, delivery of masks and medical aids in some areas, but prank information and lack of clarity on future course of action have been adding fuel to fire of the situation. Some students also doubted the authenticity of statement of Pakistani authorities. They observed that Pakistani authorities downplayed the numbers of students studying in Wuhan and Hubei Province. Official figures in this regard were quoted around 500 students with 4 confirmed cases. But as per many students there might be more than 2000 students, and only one student was confirmed and rest of others three were just suspected cases.
Both Chinese and Pakistani authorities have been working jointly to help Pakistani students who are numbered more than 500 in Wuhan and Hubei Province.
However most of groups of students, though are satisfied with Chinese authorities, are divided on response and facilitation by Pakistani authorities. Some claims that Pakistani government left them in lurch and did not bother to stay in contact with them to address their issues, while some have eulogized the efforts of Pakistani embassy in China and Pakistani government for providing them all out help.
A Pakistani student Maqsood ur Rehman from China University of Geosciences, Wuhan termed the rumors about disservice by Pakistani and Chinese governments as conspiracy, saying on the ground students were being provided all possible facilities.
His schoolmate Amjad Hussain appealed to Pakistani parents not to be worried as all measures being taken so far are meeting the daily needs. “We are safe definitely and evacuation will never serve the purpose,” he added.
Muhammad Asad, who graduated from Wuhan University and now working in private company in Wuhan was of the view that Pakistan did not have best medical facilities against Coronavirus, and during the dengue fever outbreak last time, situation was out of control. “If students are evacuated and in case anyone carries the virus to Pakistan, it will be, then, worst scenario,” he added.
INP/javed
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