Deloitte busts radiation myth about 5G’s impact on human health

MOSCOW, Jan 18 (PRIME) -- The roll-out of 5G networks has nothing to do with the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, as a research held by professional services firm Deloitte said on Monday.

“As 5G becomes more widespread, some have sounded alarm bells about its supposed health hazards. Two main concerns have been voiced, both related to the radiation associated with the technology. The most common perception is that 5G causes cancer. The second fear is that 5G-emitted radiation weakens the immune system, enabling COVID-19 to spread,” Deloitte said.

The company said that the myth about 5G’s impact on health that has been widely spread in 2020 is the fictional association between the roll-out of 5G and the spread of COVID-19. “Put plainly, the idea that 5G transmits COVID-19 is as bogus as it is impossible. COVID-19 is a virus spread through respiratory droplets from other people. A virus does not travel via radio waves,” the analysts said.

“A variant of 5G misinformation related to COVID-19 is that 5G emits radiation that weakens people’s immune systems, making them more susceptible to illness. This is similarly false.”

Deloitte expects misinformation about 5G’s relationship to COVID-19 may be as pervasive in 2021 as it was in 2020.

A survey held by U.K. communications regulator Ofcom at the end of June 2020 found that 29% of respondents had come across false or misleading information about COVID-19 in the prior week. The most common topic, seen by 21% of respondents, was “theories linking the origins or causes of COVID-19 to 5G technology.”

“If education about 5G is to be effective in curbing popular fears, it needs to be compelling, consistent, and pervasive, and it needs to begin now,” Deloitte said.

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