Is there a new G64 super spreading COVID-19 strain from India and Egypt?
Find out what’s been said about this G64 super spreader strain, and what the FACTS really are!
Updated @ 2021-08-26 : Added information on COVID-19 surge in Malaysia.
Updated @ 2021-04-30 : Added information on COVID-19 surge in India.
Originally posted @ 2020-08-31
Claim : G64 Super Spreader COVID-19 Strain From India + Egypt!
This warning has been spreading on WhatsApp, with a link to a MalaysiaKini report called KL restaurant customer part of new cluster, nine cases report today.
CODE RED WARNING TO ALL MALAYSIAN
Stay away from Mamak shop, nasi kandar and all Indian restaurant hiring Indian workers from India utk sementara waktu, a new covid cluster in KL and potentially spread to the whole country.
Genom G64 covid 19 from India and Egypt are super spreader virus. No appropriate vaccines or treatment for these viruses at least till 2023. Escape strategy for these virus cannot be done at the moment.
Truth : No G64 COVID-19 Strain From India + Egypt!
The viral warning has actually been circulating since August 2020 and is completely false! Here are the reasons why...
Fact #1 : MalaysiaKini Labelled It Fake
Most people do not read beyond the headlines or the message, and the person who created this fake message knows that very well.
He/she intentionally inserted the link to a genuine MalaysiaKini article, to make it look like a genuine warning based on the article.
However, the article does not refer to any particular COVID-19 strain, or referred to any super spreader variant.
It only mentioned that the first two cases in the Maju cluster involved workers at a restaurant, but it is unknown if they are foreigners or locals.
In any case, MalaysiaKini labelled the message as FAKE on 27 August 2020.
Malaysiakini would like to warn its readers that one of the news portal’s articles regarding the Covid-19 outbreak is being used to spread a fake message via WhatsApp.
The WhatsApp message uses this genuine link and attaches fake news with a xenophobic message and fake science.
Fact #2 : There Is No G64 COVID-19 Strain
There is no such thing as a G64 strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
At that time, the concern was over the D614G strain that was detected in the Sivagangga Cluster, which originated from India.
The D614G strain is more infectious than the original strain, but is not more dangerous.
This fake news was resurrected in April 2021, because there is a catastrophic surge of COVID-19 cases in India; and they found a new variant with double mutations - both L452R and E484Q mutations.
However, this new variant is not linked to the surge of COVID-19 cases in India. That was due to the Indian government allowing massive political rallies and the giant Kumbh Mela festival to proceed.
In August 2021 - its first anniversary, the fake news was resurrected again, on the back of a massive wave of COVID-19 infections in Malaysia.
This wave has nothing to do with the D614G, but the far more transmissible and virulent Delta variant.
Read more : Delta variant can spread in seconds : How to prevent that?
Fact #3 : There Are Now Vaccines!
We have to point this out, because this viral message is still spreading, and people actually believe that there is no vaccine for this (fake) G64 strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Multiple COVID-19 vaccines have now been approved, and administered worldwide. So make sure you get vaccinated against COVID-19 ASAP!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
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