COVID-19 media surveillance - 13 May 2020

This media surveillance collects articles reported through publicly available web sites.

It is created with the Europe Media Monitor (EMM).

The selection and placement of stories are determined automatically by a computer program.

Headlines

• USA: models project sharp rise in deaths as more US states are allowing certain businesses to open despite growing cases; world leaders pledge 8 billion USD for a vaccine, but the USA decline to participate; Anthony Fauci,WHO andFive Eyes network contradict theory Covid-19 leaked from lab.
• Spain: daily coronavirus deaths in Spain remain under 200
• Italy’s new cases and deaths are stable as lockdown eased; Italy had 11,600 unexplained 'excess deaths' in March
• France's first known Covid-19 case might have occurred in December
• Germany: number of new cases is decreasing slightly with 685 new cases and 139 new deaths
• UK: According to ECDC, the UK along with Poland, Romania and Sweden stood out as showing ‘no substantial changes in the last 14 days’
• Belgium reaches 50,267 confirmed cases
• Luxembourg: shops will be allowed to open on 11 May; 4 new cases were reported
• Russia has reported a dramatic spike in the number of new cases for two days in a row, with 10,581 confirmed cases on Monday.
• Iran has reopened mosques in parts of the country deemed at low risk as it announced another 74 deaths from Covid-19.
• India sees highest single-day spike with 3,900 cases and 195 deaths in 24 hours; restrictions are eased even as cases surge
• Brazil's increasing Covid-19 cases worry its neighboring countries; 107,780 confirmed cases and 7,321 deaths
• Singapore: 632 new coronavirus cases bringing total to 19,410
• South Korea reported zero local infections for two days in a row, while there were three imported cases; respiratory-only clinics and remote medical care will be introduced.
• Japan: 178 new cases and 20 new deaths were confirmed as state of emergency is prolonged until 31 May
• China reports 1 new case, no deaths

Twitter

The following news were found among the most mentioned/retweeted items:

• "Models shift to predict dramatically more U.S. deaths as states relax social distancing" (politico)
• "Trump trots out his latest pandemic fall guy: Anthony Fauci" (washingtonpost)
• "Fauci: No scientific evidence the coronavirus was made in a Chinese lab" (nationalgeographic)
• "15 children are hospitalized with mysterious illness possibly tied to Covid-19" (nytimes)
• "Trump and his infallible advisers. Beware men who never admit having been wrong." (nytimes)

The most mentioned English sources were the New York Times, the Guardian, CNN, Youtube and the Washington Post.

El Diario, Infobae, CNN (Spanish Version), Clarin, El País and RT (Spanish version) and Le Monde and Le Parisien were among the most mentioned Spanish and French sources, respectively.

Extracted Quotes

Kwon Joon-wook (South Korea, Deputy Director at Korea CDC):

"If a second wave of infections strikes, it will be different from the one we experienced in late February"; "We are making all out efforts in preparation [of a potential second wave]."

Michael Ryan (WHO, Executive Director):

"Like any evidence-based organisation, we would be very willing to receive any information that purports to the origin of the virus"; "If that data and evidence is available, then it will be for the United States government to decide whether and when it can be shared, but it is difficult for the WHO to operate in an information vacuum in that regard."

Fact Check

Fact checked: spread of the virus, prevention and treatment

• Fact checkers debunk claims that pregnant women are more likely to contract COVID-19, reporting that there is currently no evidence supporting such claims (pesacheck).
• Fact checkers debunk claims that the novel coronavirus cannot spread in warm climates, noting that while studies suggest that heat may constitute an adverse environment for the virus, that does not mean that the virus cannot spread in warm climates (animalpolitico).
• Fact checkers debunk claims that a product called “air doctor” - a bag that releases chlorine dioxide into the air - protects against COVID-19 (fatabyyano).

Fact checked: anti-vax narratives

• Fact checkers continue to debunk claims that Dr Elisa Granato, one of the UK's first COVID-19 vaccine trial participants, died shortly after being injected with the vaccine (pesacheck).

Fact checked: conspiracy theories

• Fact checkers debunk claims that COVID-19 is a Big Pharma fraud and it can be treated with stem cell therapy, clarifying that while stem cell therapy has been used to treat a COVID-19 patient in the US and seven others in Israel, more trials are still under way (mythdetector).
• Fact checkers continue to debunk claims that Nobel Prize-winning scientist Tasuku Honjo said SARS-CoV-2 is not natural and originated in a Wuhan lab (teyit).

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