5G causes Covid-19? That’s cock and bull

Covid-19 has become a cadaver for daily dissection by the press and the pundits.

Conspiracy theorists are also having a field day kicking around tall tales. The latest one claims that the fifth-generation superfast mobile network — popularly known as 5G — causes Covid-19.

As the theory goes, radiation from 5G is responsible for causing Covid-19 symptoms. Another variant of this theory says that 5G can suppress the immune system and make people more susceptible to Covid-19.

There is one that alleges that the coronavirus can be transmitted via 5G. In the past, anti-5G activists also claimed that the upgrade to 5G mobile networks will cause cancer, infertility and autism.

Governments and telecommunication companies around the world are scaling up mobile network with hopes of connecting more people, running more software applications and smart things, and harvesting scads of data.

In sum, 5G mobile technology is the tour de force of the digital revolution.

Technologies that predate 5G are incapable of coping with the demands for connecting a growing number of smart devices, transporting tonnes of data generated by these devices, and doing so swiftly.

Just as 4G networks provide mobile internet speeds hundreds of times faster than 3G — enabling users worldwide to stream HD TV, browse web pages quickly, and even make high-quality video calls — the advent of 5G will allow speeds of up to 100 times faster than 4G.

Regarding the health challenges attributed to 5G mobile wireless networks, no study has found its linkage to Covid-19, cancer, infertility or any other health issues.

Driven by fear and anxiety stoked by these allegations, some people have taken to vandalising 5G towers in different parts of the world.

At least 30 phone towers in Britain alone have been attacked. Masts in Ireland, the Netherlands and Cyprus have also been targeted.

To burst these myths, the World Health Organisation says “viruses cannot travel on mobile radio networks”, and that “Covid-19 is spreading in many countries that do not have 5G mobile networks”.

The fact is, Covid-19 is spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks. People can also be infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their eyes, mouth or nose.

The International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency that coordinates telecommunication operations and services throughout the world, states that linking Covid-19 to 5G has no kernel of truth or scientific basis.

In a world buffeted by constant bouts of news about the coronavirus, it can be challenging to ferret out facts from the dense fog of fiction.

Here is my point: the internet is brimming with cock-and-bull stories. The allegation that 5G causes Covid-19 or transmits the coronavirus is a massive distraction. Don’t believe everything you see on the internet.