Linking 5G with COVID-19 is 'dangerous nonsense'—tech experts

Linking 5G with COVID-19 is ‘dangerous nonsense’—tech experts

 

Linking 5G with COVID-19 is ‘dangerous nonsense’—tech experts

United Kingdom Cabinet Minister, Michael Gove and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have dismissed as conspiracy theories, the accelerating linking of 5G communications technology to COVID-19 pandemic.

Gove said the theories  are “dangerous nonsense”.

Also, Prof Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, says 5G infrastructure is critical both to the general population who are being asked to stay at home and to the healthcare response to the virus.

“I’m absolutely outraged and disgusted that people would be taking action against the infrastructure we need to tackle this emergency,” he says, referring to incidents of 5G masts being set alight. 

There are already reactions across Uk, Europe, Asia and Africa connecting 5G with the current Chinese virus. Nigeria’s Communications Technology Minister, Isa Pantani had to issue a statement denying approval for 5G operations in Nigeria.

Birmingham and Merseyside masts were torched on Thursday and Friday over 5G coronavirus claims

Trade body Mobile UK said false rumours and theories linking 5G and coronavirus were “concerning”.

The government said “there is absolutely no credible evidence of a link” between the two.

Posting on Twitter, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport added it was “aware of inaccurate information being shared online about 5G”.

 @DCMS@DCMS

Report

In Melling, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said it extinguished a 5G mast tower fire near the M57 motorway.

There was damage to the mast and control panels, a spokesman said.

West Midlands Fire Service said the fire in Birmingham involved a 70ft tower on a telecommunications site. However, the service said the cause was yet to be identified and could not confirm the mast was 5G.

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: “We’re aware of a fire involving a phone mast, but are awaiting further details on its cause.”

On Friday, Facebook removed a page which showed several videos claiming to show 5G towers on fire and encouraged others to do the same.

In addition to warning on the theories about the safety of 5G technologies, Mobile UK added: “More worryingly some people are also abusing our key workers and making threats to damage infrastructure under the pretence of claims about 5G.

“This is not acceptable and only impacts on our ability as an industry to maintain the resilience and operational capacity of the networks to support mass home working and critical connectivity to the emergency services, vulnerable consumers and hospitals.”

BBC Technology desk editor, Leo Kelion said conspiracy theories linking 5G signals to the coronavirus pandemic continue to spread despite there being no evidence the mobile phone signals pose a health risk.

Fact-checking charity Full Fact has linked the claims to two flawed theories.

One suggests 5G suppresses the immune system, the other claims the virus is somehow using the network’s radio waves to communicate and pick victims, accelerating its spread.

While 5G uses different radio frequencies to its predecessors, it’s important to recognise that the waveband involved is still “non-ionising”, meaning it lacks enough energy to break apart the DNA in our cells to cause damage.

The second theory appears to be based on the work of a Nobel Prize-winning biologist who suggested bacteria could generate radio waves.

But this remains a controversial idea and well outside mainstream scientific thought.

There’s another major flaw with both these theories. Coronavirus is spreading in UK cities where 5G has yet to be deployed, and in countries like Japan and Iran that have yet to adopt the technology.

 

Editorial Chief, Nigerian Bureau

Kings UBA is a Nigerian journalist and writer. I have reported for major local and international news organisations. I write satire. In 2017, I started contributing stories primarily to Discover Africa News Network. I can be reached on editorkingsuba@gmail.com. I currently manage Discover Africa News social media handles