As India reels under the second wave of Covid-19, several WhatsApp forwards and social media posts claimed that the World Health Organization (WHO) has said Covid-19 can spread through cabbages.
The post typically warns readers not to eat cabbage, citing a false WHO report, as the virus stays in cabbage for a very long time. The message says that while the Covid-19 virus usually lasts for at least 9-12 hours on other surfaces, the virus lasts more than 30 hours on cabbage.
According to AFP, the WHO India representative said that the claim was false and that the United Nations body had not issued the purported advisory. The WHO website also makes no mention of cabbage as an item to be avoided for fear of contracting the virus.
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The Central government’s official Press Information Bureau (PIB) had taken to Twitter last year to declare the claim untrue, saying the WHO had issued no such report.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also claimed on its website that there is currently no evidence to support the transmission of Covid-19 associated with food.
