When news of the fourth confirmed Wuhan virus case surfaced, people wondered why the patient was isolated in Sengkang General Hopsital instead of a hospital that’s nearer to where he had stayed, like Singapore General Hospital or Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
Is the food better at Sengkang General Hospital? Did the man take a taxi, and the taxi driver decided to take a longer route and pretended SKH and SGH are the same so as to earn more money?
It didn’t help that images like this also made its rounds on the Internet…before the confirmed case was announced:
But now, MOH has come out to clarify that these images have nothing to with Wuhan virus.
Maybe someone just had some serious food poisoning in Compass One. Who knows.
MOH Confirms Images of Compass One With People in Protective Gears Not Related to Wuhan Virus
Two hours ago, MOH posted this on their Facebook Page:
Lest you can’t read, here’s what’s written:
MOH is aware of rumours circulating online regarding medical workers in protective gear attending to an individual at Compass One. We would like to clarify that the individual is not linked to the Wuhan coronavirus.
We advise members of the public not to speculate and/or spread unfounded rumours. Please visit www.moh.gov.sg for updates on the Wuhan coronavirus situation.
So, there you have it: don’t anyhowly speculate.
In a press conference today, Communications and Information Minister S Iswaran also said that the Government will take “swift action” against such mistruths, especially at the moment when a fake news can shake society and cause mass panic.
He added, “Otherwise, there is a grave risk that they will spread and cause panic amongst our citizens. That is why we have the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma), and we will not hesitate to use the powers under the law to take action against any party that spreads such falsehood.”
Hardwarezone forums have been issued a correction direction this morning, when a poster anyhowly said that someone from Singapore has died from the Wuhan virus.
The post was up for 2.5 hours and viewed over 4,600 times before it was taken down.
In other words, it’s time to remind your parents and grandparents now to anyhowly share unverified stories about the Wuhan virus situation in Singapore.
But what if you want the latest information sent to you?
You can subscribe to the Gov.sg WhatsApp service, because older folks like us don’t use Telegram:
Either that, you can bookmark MOH’s website.
