Fake warning claims popular foods contaminated with coronavirus

Health officials have shot down claims the coronavirus is being spread through popular food items, after a warning was sent out to Sydney residents.

A fake warning has attempted to ramp up fear over the coronavirus after a widely circulated message urged people in Sydney to stay away from certain foods that had been contaminated.

The mistake-riddled message has been shared across social media and sent directly to multiple people on WhatsApp, telling people there was an urgent update regarding the deadly virus.

The message wrongly refers to the coronavirus as the “corna’s disease” and warns people that it has begun to spread through western Sydney.

“I would like to warn wholesale shops and buyers on the risk of buying contaminated items,” the message reads.

“These following items are known to or may have traces of corona’s (sic) disease. (Products are made or held in neighbouring areas close to Wuhan China.”

A number of supposedly contaminated products are listed, including fortune cookies, Mi Goreng noodles, Lipton peach iced tea, Yakult milk drink, Wagyu beef, Chinese Red Bull and regular Red Bull.

The fake warning listed a number of food and drink items that has supposedly been contaminated.

NSW Health have confirmed the post is a hoax.

The message urges people to be “extra vigilant” if they plan on purchasing these items before going on to state the areas in Sydney that infected people have visited.

The writer even made up an organisation called the Bureau of Diseasology Parramatta in order to back up their wild claims.

They noted at Cabramatta, Burwood, Strathfield, Newtown, Chester Hill and Guildford were all “contaminated”.

“These areas shown above have shown positive reading to the virus when test where (sic) taken at respective train stations,” the fake message reads.

“Scientists are believing this virus is spreading faster than the common flu … dear public please be cautious while entering these areas and wear masks/gloves when at work and out in public.”

2/2 Further, there is no such entity as the “Department of Diseasology Parramatta”.

NSW Health would like to assure the community that the locations mentioned in this post pose no risk to visitors, and there have been no “positive readings” at train stations.

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 28, 2020

Today NSW Health shot down all the claims made in the social media post, confirming that it did not originate from them or any other related entity.

“There is no such entity as the ‘Department of Diseasology Parramatta’,” the department said in a tweet.

“NSW Health would like to assure the community that the locations mentioned in this post pose no risk to visitors, and there have been no ‘positive readings’ at train stations.”

Five people are being treated in Australian hospitals for the virus after returning from visiting the region, but Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said they were all in a stable condition.

“In fact, one of them is so well, they’re only in hospital because of the quarantine requirements,” he told reporters.

People seen wearing masks at Sydney airport due to the virus. Picture: Chris Pavlich

But authorities warn there’s likely to be more cases and are working to trace any human contact the five confirmed patients have had, including people who were on the same flights from China to Australia.

In NSW, there are four confirmed cases including a 21-year-old University of NSW student who was diagnosed after flying back from the virus epicentre in Wuhan, China, and three men – aged 35, 43 and 53 – who are being treated at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital.

The UNSW student displayed no symptoms upon landing in Sydney on China Eastern flight MU749 on Thursday but 24 hours later began exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

In Victoria, a man in his 50s is being treated at Monash Medical Centre while four of his family members are under home isolation.

With AAP