Fact Check: COVID-19 warning message from Dr. Leong Hoe Nam is fake
NewsMeter could not find any recent news articles that confirm that Dr. Leong Hoe Nam had given such warning about COVID-19. We found no such interviews by Dr. Nam.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 7 Nov 2021 11:40 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A COVID-19 warning message that allegedly contains excerpts from an interview by Dr. Leong Hoe Nam, a public health expert in Singapore, is circulating on social media.
Dr. Nam reportedly said that those who have received the vaccination, particularly the elderly, must get the booster jabs because medications for diseases like diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and others have reduced the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The post further claims that the COVID-19 Delta variant has become different, deadly, and undetectable. It says nasal swabs are often negative for Delta and nasopharyngeal tests show false negatives. It also lists out a set of symptoms of the Delta variant.
Click here to view the message.
Fact Check
NewsMeter could not find any recent news articles that confirm that Dr. Leong Hoe Nam had given such warning about COVID-19. We found no such interviews by Dr. Nam.
Dr. Leong Hoe Nam is an infectious disease specialist from the Rophi Clinic at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital in Singapore. He is frequently interviewed and his opinions are sought on various infectious diseases like COVID-19. Rophi Clinic refuted the information in a Facebook post and called it 'fake news'. It said, "This is to state categorically that Dr Leong has never said what was shared. There is a lot of false information. This is a fake news information that is spreading disinformation that serves to hurt the covid 19 epidemic response of Singapore, and the reputation of Dr Leong Hoe Nam."
Moreover, the symptoms of Delta variant are not different as claimed in the post.
Clearly, the message claiming to be a warning from Dr. Leong Hoe Nam of Singapore is fake.
