Fact Check: Video claims that COVID 19 is a bacteria and can be treated by antibiotics are FALSE

Several social media posts and videos claim that the COVID 19 is not a virus but a bacteria that can be cured in one day.

Posts have been circulating with the claim that COVID 19 patients don't need intensive care or ventilators for recovery.

"My Goodness is this true? Some1nd2findout. The US and many countries with strongest Intel agencies could not detect d fact? WHO. cheated d world?Is Corona not a Virus but a bacterial infection and patients can cure only in one day? See this video and share it so that d facts can b verified. https://t.co/drXuR8uyd3 (sic)," a Twitter user said sharing a video.

This video has been circulating online causing confusion among many people. The video in this post claims the following:

1. COVID 19 is a bacteria.

2. COVID 19 can be cured in one day

3. COVID 19 patients don't need intensive care

4. COVID 19 is a thrombosis

5. COVID 19 can be cured with antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, and anticoagulants.

6. COVID 19 bacteria is caused due to 5g electromagnetic radiation.

Archived link can be found here.

Fact check:

The video is fake. When noticed, the video begins abruptly. Secondly, there is no official watermark on the video. Any official video related to COVID 19 will have the mark of an established organization either in the beginning or at the end to prove authenticity.

1. Claim that COVID-19 is bacteria:

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID 19, also known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a virus from a family of viruses called Coronaviridae that spreads through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), illustrated the structure of the virus and revealed the ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Thus proving it is a virus and not bacteria.

2. Claim that COVID-19 can be cured in one day:

According to 'The LANET infectious Disease', the mean duration from onset of symptoms to death is 17•8 days and to hospital discharge is 24•7 days. Therefore the virus cannot be cured in one day.

3.Claim that COVID 19 patients don't need intensive care or ventilators:

About 5–15% of patients with COVID-19 infection require intensive care surveillance and ventilator support. This is primarily because of the effects of pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. According to Medical Xpress, if lung function has been severely impaired, patients may need a ventilator. Therefore, it is not true that COVID-19 patients never require ventilator and ICU support.

4. Claim that COVID 19 is a thrombosis:

A thrombosis is a local coagulation or clotting of the blood in a part of the circulatory system. According to the claim in the video a patient dies due to blood clots caused by the virus. This is false as the virus infects the cell lining of the throat, airways and lungs and this results in infecting more cells. The infected person then suffers from symptoms like fever, cough, body ache, and inflammation depending on the severity and this could lead to death, according to BBC news.

5. Claim that COVID 19 can be cured by antibiotics:

According to WHO, antibiotics work only against bacteria, not viruses. Since it is caused by virus antibiotics should not be used for prevention or treatment. However, if the patient is hospitalized for COVID-19, they may receive antibiotics because bacterial co-infection is possible. To date, there is no specific medicine recommended to prevent or treat the new coronavirus.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as well, antibiotics do not work against viruses. Antibiotics should not be used as a means of prevention or treatment of COVID-19. They should only be used as directed by a physician to treat a bacterial infection.

6. Claim that COVID 19 bacteria is caused due to 5g electromagnetic radiation.

According to WHO, viruses cannot travel on radio waves/mobile networks. It also maintains that "unlike ionizing radiation such as X-rays or gamma rays, the electromagnetic fields created by mobile networks can neither break chemical bonds nor cause ionization in the human body."

With all the above information it is clear that none of the claims in the video are true. COVID 19 is a virus that has no cure yet and cannot be treated by antibiotics.

Thus, all the claims made in the video are FALSE.

This fact check has been published as part of the Internews Information Saves Lives: Rapid Response Fund project to NewsMeter