Malaysian govt dispels rumours: Coronavirus will not turn people into zombies

Putrajaya — The novel coronavirus is spreading all over the world, but misinformation about the disease is affecting even more people online.

On Malaysian social media, posts have gone viral that claim the disease makes people “act like zombies”.

Netizens have compared those affected by the disease to the fictional walking dead, citing posts which depict people dropping dead in the streets allegedly due to the virus.

In a move to combat the viral misinformation, the Malaysian Ministry of Health shared on Twitter that such claims are false. It said that “it is not true that individuals affected by the virus behave like zombies” and that “patients can recover”.

Tiga fakta novel coronavirus 2019 yang perlu ditular.

1. Tidak benar dakwaan individu yang dijangkiti virus ini berkelakuan seperti ZOMBIE. ❌

2. Pesakit boleh SEMBUH. ✔️Rawatan simptom yg dialami pesakit. Jika demam, rawatan untuk baik demam.

— KKMPutrajaya (@KKMPutrajaya) January 31, 2020

According to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, six people have been arrested for sharing misinformation about the coronavirus.

In the latest arrests, a 49-year-old man was detained last Wednesday for “uploading fake content” about the coronavirus on Facebook and a 28-year-old woman was held the following day for “improper use of network facilities“.

Malaysia has eight cases of people who have been infected with the Wuhan virus. All are Chinese nationals. /TISG