: Coronavirus – France forced to warn people that COCAINE won’t combat killer bug after hoax tweet goes viral #WorldNEWS #News HEALTH officials in France have been forced to put out an urgent

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Coronavirus – France forced to warn people that COCAINE won’t combat killer bug after hoax tweet goes viral #WorldNEWS #News
HEALTH officials in France have been forced to put out an urgent alert to shoot down bogus claims COCAINE can combat coronavirus.
A fake tweet went viral across the hard-hit country bizarrely claiming snorting the class A drug would stop people catching the killer bug.
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Getty - Contributor A fake tweet which claimed cocaine can combat coronavirus went viral[/caption]
The Health ministry eventually had to post a message on Twitter making it clear the claims were not only wrong they were also dangerous.
They said: “No, Cocaine does NOT protect against Covid-19.
“It is an addictive drug causing serious adverse effects and harmful to the health of people.”
More than 5,800 promptly liked the ministry’s tweet with thousands retweeting it.
But those who hadn’t seen the fake tweet were clearly left more than a bit confused.
One wrote: “While Italy locks down the whole country, France is having to put out official tweets explaining that No, cocaine does NOT protect against Covid-19.”
Another said: “France is grappling with over a 1,000 coronavirus cases and they had to do a PSA telling people that cocaine doesn’t cure coronavirus can you imagine the stress.”
There are currently more than 1,700 confirmed coronavirus cases in France and 33 recorded deaths.
Ministry of Solidarity and Health The Health ministry tweet reads ‘No, Cocaine does NOT protect against Covid-19’[/caption]

It’s not the first time bogus rumours have been spread amid the coronavirus panic -sometimes with fatal results.
Dozens died in Iran from alcohol poisoning after drinking methanol in a bid to protect themselves.
Rumours had earlier circulated that booze – outlawed for most Iranians – can stave off the virus.
And in January QAnon conspiracy theorists claimed drinking bleach can help cure the infection.
The cleaning liquid has also been promoted by the bonkers group as a cure for autism and AIDS.
Another bogus claim was that a Chinese respiratory expert found gargling saline solution can kill the virus.
The UK government is now trying to tackle fake news about the coronavirus outbreak by setting up an expert team to counter disinformation.

 
The special government unit will first try to assess the scope, impact and extent of the fake news.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said defending the country from disinformation was a “top priority”.
The World Health Organisation now has a website dedicated to debunking falsehoods.
It points out snow, garlic, hairdryers and hot baths cannot kill off the spreading virus.

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