Four medical experts have debunked false notions being held by a section the Ghanaian public about the new coronavirus disease.

Speaking on a myths-busting edition of PM Express on the Joy News channel Dr Titus Beyou, Deputy General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association; Dr Yaw Bediako, a Research Fellow at the West Africa Centre for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens; Dr Bertha Serwaa Ayi, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Nebraska Medical Centre, USA and Dr Michael Owusu, a Virologist at the Department Medical Diagnostics at the KNUST and Researcher at KCCR, took turns to discredit at least five popular myths about the pandemic.

Myth 1: The elderly are the most at risk of getting critical and dying from coronavirus; teenagers are not

Because data from countries where the outbreak has wreaked havoc show that older and elderly people (aged 60 plus) are the most vulnerable to Covid-19, this has been extended to mean that they are most likely to die from the virus.

Dr Owusu, the Virologist, said the fatality trend in the U.S. shows something different from this widely-held belief – people with underlining health conditions – young and old – a have died from the virus.

He said most people are usually exposed to either the mild or severe strain of the virus and that the severe (or lethal) strains usually complicates existing health conditions in patients and worsening their health conditions to a critical stage.

He explained that the death of a 19-year-old boy the virus in the Northern Region is proof that it is not only the elderly that are susceptible the disease.

According to him, as it became apparent that the boy had asthma, the virus typically complicates underlining conditions in people who get infected.

Dr Bediako, the scientist at the West Africa Centre for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens, also warned the public against this myth.

“Yes it is true that most of the deaths that have occurred globally do occur in individuals who are older and so that would suggest that people who are beyond 60 are more at risk of dying. But it doesn’t mean that younger people are completely immune from death,” he said.

He said as more data is being gathered about the virus, it would be safe for everybody to adhere to hygiene and safety protocols that prevent infection.

Infectious disease expert, Dr Bertha Serwaa Ayi, said also said age does not make one more predisposed the virus than another person.

“It is the manifestation that may vary generally with age,” she said.

Dr Titus Beyou capped the experts’ advice by stating that the most predictive factor about the virus currently is that it complicates the health conditions of persons is underlining illness.

“The young can die, and the old can die,” he stressed.

Myth 2: Blacks are immune

Dr Ayi began the education on this false notion by stating that the fact that one Cameroonian recovered from the virus in China does not mean all Blacks are likely to do same.

He said diabetes and high blood pressure, which African American are more susceptible to, will easily be complicated by the virus – the reason current trends in the United States show African Americans, although are in the minority, are dying more from the disease.

Dr Bediako also said it is erroneous to think that because the coronavirus case counts are lower in Africa, Blacks have a better immune system to fight the disease.

According to him, the numbers in Africa are lower because African countries are not doing testing.

“People may be dying but their deaths are just not being attributed to the virus; so it will look like Covid-19 is not killing people in Africa,” he added.

Myth 3: The virus doesn’t do well in hotter climates

Dr Owusu said people must be careful about many of the assumptions about the virus that being circulated as it is too early to make assumptions about it.

“Weather does not play any significant role in terms of infections,” Dr Owusu stressed.

He said although no studies have proven this, his own guess is that hot climate my slow the spread of the virus, but that does not mean people living in hotter climates are not susceptible to contracting Covid-19.

Dr Bediako also stressed that viruses are spread by the movement of people, not weather.

According to Dr Bediako, although Ghana has taken some smart steps to contain the spread, Ghana has been lucky.

Dr Ayi said 63 degree Celsius is the known temperature that will kill the virus, but Ghana’s climate is not that hot for that factor to be significant.

Myth 4: 5G is spreading the virus

Dr Owusu said he was surprised by the popularity of this myth.

“Viruses don’t travel through radio waves,” he echoed a statement by the World Health Organisation on this myth.

Myth 5: Chloroquine will cure the virus

The experts warn that the scientific world is sharply divided about this. They say even if chloroquine was able to cure the disease, the side effects of the old malaria drug makes it an unsuitable drug to manage the disease in infected persons.

Myth 6: Drinking Alcohol (Akpeshie) can prevent infection

The experts say the best case scenario will be that if Akpeshie was rubbed on the band as a sanitiser, it will kill the virus, but not when it was consumed.

Watch the full show below.