FALSE: Coronavirus in the body dies in 4 days

Rappler.com

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FALSE: Coronavirus in the body dies in 4 days
Studies show that the period from the onset to clinical recovery lasts between 2 and 6 weeks, depending on the severity of the case

Claim: The coronavirus dies in the body in 4 days, and one would be pronounced negative for the virus by the 5th day.

A claim is being reposted many times on Facebook saying that the Chinese are killing the coronavirus with heat instead of medicine. The text also says: “Virus dies in 4 days. 5th day you are Corona Negative.”

The claim was sent to Rappler by a reader for verification. Posts containing this claim were also flagged by Facebook Claim Check, a tool that detects posts with potentially false information.

Rating: FALSE

The facts: The time from onset to clinical recovery of COVID-19 patients takes two to 6 weeks, depending on the severity of the case.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the incubation period or the time between catching the virus and the manifestation of symptoms of the disease alone ranges from 1-14 days, most commonly around 5 days. 

The report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 also said that the time from onset to recovery lasts from two to 6 weeks.

“Using available preliminary data, the median time from onset to clinical recovery for mild cases is approximately 2 weeks and is 3-6 weeks for patients with severe or critical disease. Preliminary data suggests that the time period from onset to the development of severe disease, including hypoxia, is 1 week. Among patients who have died, the time from symptom onset to outcome ranges from 2-8 weeks,” the report said.

A study entitled, “Epidemiological and Clinical Aspects of COVID-19; a Narrative Review” said that in case studies conducted outside of mainland China, the period of the onset of symptoms to recovery lasted around 22 days. Meanwhile, the average period of the onset of symptoms to death ranges from 20 to 22 days.

Meanwhile, WHO also said that while some Western, traditional, or home remedies may alleviate symptoms of COVID-19, there is no evidence that any current medicine is able to prevent or cure the disease. Furthermore, WHO does not recommend self-medication using any drug for COVID-19. 

Rappler also previously debunked other posts which falsely claimed that the coronavirus can be eliminated by high temperatures and that salt water steam can cure COVID-19.

Rappler also reached out to the Facebook user to whom the original post was attributed, but did not receive a reply as of writing.

As of Thursday, April 16, the number of coronavirus cases worldwide hit two million, with a death toll of at least 131,000. – Loreben Tuquero/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.

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