Melbourne remains in the midst of a screening blitz to control the current coronavirus outbreak.
However on social media, this boost in screening has been accompanied by a rise in misinformation and conspiracy theories concentrating on the reliability and security of COVID-19 screening procedures.
Among other claims, some posts incorrectly recommend that a typical kind of COVID-19 test is unable to discover the virus or might be hazardous.
Much of the worrying material sent to the ABC and tracked on platforms like Facebook and Instagram associates with a COVID-19 test known as a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR test.
These tests discover the existence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and can involve having a swab placed up one or both nostrils, or into the back of your throat. Some individuals find this method uncomfortable, but they’re not dangerous.
In Victoria, a Department of Health and Person Solutions spokesperson said 1,068,000 COVID-19 tests had been processed to date.
” PCR tests are utilized in Victoria and are among the most typical ways to check for coronavirus,” he said.
” They are thought about to be the most dependable and are regularly examined for efficacy as part of the recognition studies in laboratories.”
Yet there are people are declining to be tested, regardless of the spike in locally acquired cases in some parts of Australia.
It’s unclear if the misinformation distributing online is causing any of those in hotel quarantine or locals in Victoria’s lockdown suburban areas to decline tests.
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