Coronavirus: Fact of Fiction?

Many of you have questions about coronavirus - and we're getting answers from local health experts.

There’s a lot of information flying around about COVID-19. At Channel 8, Nebraska’s Trusted News Source for coronavirus coverage, we want to help you sort through it all.

We’ve taken your questions and gotten answers from local health experts – to help separate fact from fiction. In this edition, we again speak to Dr. David Quimby, an infectious disease doctor at CHI Health.

Question 1: Fact or Fiction – Mosquitos can transmit COVID-19?

“Fiction – there is no evidence of anybody getting infection via mosquitos. for someone to go by mosquitos it has to be in pretty high levels in a person’s blood and then survive the mosquito’s GI tract – that family of viruses does not seem to fit those criteria.”

Question 2: Fact or Fiction – It is possible there are more COVID-19 symptoms than those we are aware of now?

“Fact – for the simple reason that there are always possibilities in life but whenever you have a new disease you come up with symptoms along the way that aren’t the most common but some people have them. Initially, it was all respiratory, and they were finding some people who may have stomach symptoms as a first symptom. Now there are some reports that especially in pediatrics there might be a particular kind of rash on the feet, so as we learn we will find other things.”

Question 3: Fact or Fiction – 5G technology has contributed to the spread of COVID-19?

“Fiction – that is a big bold fiction, however, it is useful that when we are home, we can now iPad and otherwise communicate more effectively and with less lag time so I would call it a good thing.”

Question 4: Fact or Fiction – Drinking alcohol can reduce the risk of getting COVID-19?

“Fiction – in order to have antiviral activity, alcohol needs to be at least 60-70% and you’re not going to that tissue level of alcohol by drinking. The standard alcohol content for purchased alcohol in the store is only 40% so that’s the highest you can get outside of moonshine.”

Question 5: Fact or Fiction – COVID-19 is airborne?

“Both – it does go person to person through the air so in that respect, you can consider it airborne. But for something to be technically airborne, it has to deal with droplet sizes and stability of the virus in the air and the number of people you can infect easily. By that, it doesn’t meet the technical definition of airborne like something like measles or chickenpox does.”

The next addition of fact or fiction will be Thursday, April 23. If you have questions you want us to answer, you can send them here.