Leading Virologist Calls Out Maltese Platform For Spreading ‘Fake News’ On COVID-19
The head of laboratories at Mater Dei Hospital has called out an online news platform for spreading fake news relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Please stop spreading fake news on this site,” Christopher Barbara, renowned as Malta’s leading virologist, said in reply to an update published on news platform Gerald Fenech Covid19 news updates.
Just last night, the page announced two new cases of COVID-19 before later claiming that a retest resulted in no new cases earlier this morning.
However, Barbara confirmed as head of laboratories that there were no positive cases or retests yesterday.
“As head of laboratories at Mater Dei Hospital I confirm that yesterday we had no positive COVID-19 swab tests and that there were no repeats either,” he said.
The Facebook page was set up to provide the public with updates on the COVID-19 pandemic and has a reputation for publishing daily updates on new cases and recoveries prior to the official announcement by the health ministry’s official Facebook platform, saħħa.
Over the past two months, the page went viral amassing a total of 20,000 likes with people regularly following it as a main source of COVID-19 news.
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