The NY Post reports that there's lots of fake news about the virus, and so-called remedies, is running rampant on Facebook and other sites, so you need to take everything with a grain of salt.
Some of the fake stories circulating include:
- President Trump can invoke the Safford Act, which will allow for martial law to enforce a mandatory two-week quarantine. (The National Security Council says he can't.)
- Things that allegedly kill the coronavirus – blasting hot air from your hair dryer into your sinuses, eating bananas, gargling with warm water mixed with salt or vinegar. (They don't)
- Drinking a lot of water and salt or vinegar eliminates the virus from your throat. The theory suggests that coronavirus stays in the throat for four days before it reaches the lungs so the water will keep it from getting to the lungs. (Doctors actually say it can remain there a week and there’s no gargling that will get rid of it.)
- People testing vaccines in Washington are actually paid actors being injected with saline. (Testing actually began last week at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle.)
- Also Gerber and Enfamil are offering free formula to parents who can’t find any in their market. (Both companies say that's not true.)