UPDATE: WV STARTS OFFICIAL CORONAVIRUS SITE - Mis-information Runs Wild With Millions Reading

(03/12/2020)

The coronaviris in the USA has spawned more misinformation since it was politically polarized by President Donald Trump, announcing that it is a "new Democrat hoax," and issuing conflicting "facts" with the nation's leading health scientists during the same news conference. A WV health official told the Hur Herald that social media and politicized web sites have created huge amounts of mis-information as the virus has infected more than 100,000 people and has killed more than 3,000 while the world's money markets hit new lows. Dozens of rumors circulating as the coronavirus circulates from country to country as medical science takes a back seat. “Take a shot of apple cider vinegar and wash it down with some whisky,” said Rebekah Buckner. “I heard it was seasonal and it’ll be gone when spring gets here,” said Beth Harrison. ’You need to get a mask’ warns one, and ’the heat can kill the virus’ urges another. “If you wash your hands with Tito’s Vodka, it’ll kill the coronavirus but it will not,” said April Bays. The false information sites, particularly those defending President Trump's statements, have reached millions of viewers. “False information about the virus has spread faster than the virus, and has gotten into people’s lives and affected more people than the virus itself,” says Andrew Pattinson with the World Health Organization, or WHO. The World Health Organization is working to put a stop to all of these rumors. “Some of the videos that went out on Youtube the week of the declaration of emergency were getting hundreds of millions of views and none of them were based on science,” said Pattinson. Youtube has now put a message at the top of any coronavirus searches, providing a direct link to the World Health Organization. The WHO provides reliable science based information. An information hotline is now up and running in the state of West Virginia to address public and medical provider questions regarding the Coronavirus. The hotline is being provided through a long-standing emergency preparedness partnership between DHHR's Bureau for Public Health and the West Virginia Poison Center. Operators are available 24/7. The toll-free number is 1-800-887-4304

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