Fact Check: Did Singapore government conduct autopsy on bodies of COVID victims?
Social media users are claiming that Singapore has become the first country in the world to conduct a post-mortem on Covid-19 bodies.
By Shimron Diana Published on 13 Aug 2021 6:06 AM GMT
Hyderabad: Social media users are claiming that Singapore has become the first country in the world to conduct a post-mortem on Covid-19 bodies.
"After a thorough investigation, it was discovered that Covid-19 does not exist as a virus, but a bacterium that is exposed to radiation and coagulates the blood to cause human deathā¦.." reads the message.
The post was attributed to the Singapore health ministry.
We also came across another post with a similar claim.
https://www.facebook.com/100004658499024/posts/1873925182772747/
Fact Check:
The claim is false. Singapore has not conducted any such autopsy. However, China has conducted the autopsy and has become the first-ever country to do so.
NewsMeter on research found that the Singapore government has not conducted any such autopsy and they have clarified on their websites that the circulated information is false.
https://www.gov.sg/article/
"A false message attributed to the Ministry of Health, Singapore has been circulating on messaging platforms. It claimed that following an autopsy on a COVID-19 patient, Singapore discovered that COVID-19 does not exist as a virus, but instead as a "bacterium that has been exposed to radiation and causes human death by coagulation in the blood". The message also falsely claimed that the authorities had changed the treatment protocols for COVID-19, and instead gave aspirins to patients who tested positive for COVID-19. The allegations are all false and the message did not originate from the Ministry of Health, Singapore. Earlier versions of this message, citing countries such as Italy and Russia instead of Singapore, have been exposed as untrue," Singapore government said.
Singapore government also put up facts regarding the message. They said Singapore has not performed any such autopsy on COVID-19 patients nor made such claims about the pathophysiology of COVID-19 infection. There has also not been any such resultant change in the treatment protocols for COVID-19 patients as claimed in the falsely circulated image.
They also mentioned that Covid 19 is a virus and not bacteria. Covid cannot be treated with Aspirin, they said.
Secondly, News Meter checked if any country conducted the autopsy and we came across an article on a website `ypdiscover'. The article stated: "The first autopsy conducted on a Chinese Covid-19 victim has highlighted the damage the disease causes to the lungs. The pathological features of Covid-19 were found to resemble those seen in severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers), which are in the same family of coronavirus."
Hence China was the first country to conduct an autopsy on Covid- 19 Victim.
We then clarified if Covid 19 is caused by bacteria as mentioned in the message. We came across an article by World Health Organization which debunked the claim. The article stated, "The virus that causes COVID-19 is in a family of viruses called Coronaviridae. Antibiotics do not work against viruses. Some people who become ill with COVID-19 can also develop a bacterial infection as a complication. In this case, antibiotics may be recommended by a health care provider."
https://www.who.int/
Conclusion: Hence the claim is False. Singapore has not conducted any such autopsy. Singapore government has debunked the message. China has conducted the autopsy and it is the first-ever country to do so.
